Love Is My Savior
by Alice Lupin
Summary: My name is Draco Xavier Malfoy. This is the story of how my life changed. All because of the love that I found in a very unlikely place. In someone I was taught to hate. A muggleborn by the name of Hermione Granger. Her love is what saved me.
1. My name is Draco Xavier Malfoy

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 1 - My name is Draco Xavier Malfoy**

My name is Draco Xavier Malfoy. My father? Lucius Damien Malfoy. Deceased. My mother? Narcissa Dawn Black. Still alive, thank Merlin! Best friend? Harry James Potter. Wife? Hermione Marie Granger. Biological children? 3. Adopted children? 1.

I bet your wondering how that happened? It's a very interesting story, let me tell you. Would you like to here it?

It began in the summer before our 6th year...

***************

I'd been working at a muggle market in Camden called the Camden Market. It was smack in the middle of 4 roads, Camden High Road, Parkway, Jamestown Road, and Kentish Town Road. It wasn't just one market, but several. It was made up of Camden Market, Camden Lock Market and Stables Market. I worked in Camden Lock helping sell old books and cheap designer clothing. I had set up a bank account in muggle London at Barclays Bank. I made sure no one would recognize me by changing my apperance. I darkened my eyes to a dark blue. My hair went from platinum blonde to light brown and i tanned my skin slightly. Unfortunatly, I couldn't change my voice. And that is what gave me away.

One day, it was a Thursday I believe. In August. It was an extremely hot day. 27 degrees Celcius. 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I was dressed in tan cargo shorts and a tight black shirt that some people call wife-beaters, though I had no clue as to why. I had been watching her for a while. Hermione Granger was walking slowly through Camden Lock Market. She had a small pile of clothes and 3 books in her arms. She was currently wearing a pair of jean shorts that came to mid-thigh and a white tanktop with a blue over shirt. She had changed quite a bit since I'd met her in first year. Her once frizzy brown hair now fell in soft curls to the middle of her back, all frizzyness gone. The school robes that usually covered her body were gone, revealing nice feminine curves. I knew there was a reason I hated those bloody school robes.

After about a half hour of watching her she approached me, ready to pay for her items.

"All set?" I asked polietly. She looked at me strangely and nodded. She set her things down and pulled out her purse. "Maternity clothes?" I asked. She blushed and nodded. "For a friend or...?" I faded off looking her up and down. Was she pregnant? Something inside of me got angry. Though I didn't know what it was at the time I later identified it as jealousy.

"They're umm... for me actually." She said quietly. "I'm 6 weeks." I nodded, pretending not to care. Suddenly she said, "Have we met before? You look familiar. And your voice..." She faded off and shrugged.

"I doubt it." I said, smiling. "I don't live around here." Which was true. "£33, please." She handed me her pounds and I put her items in a plastic bag for her.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly. "Are you quite sure we haven't met?" I started getting nervous. I knew how stubborn she could be.

"I'm pretty sure we haven't. I live in the country in Wiltshire."

"Oh... Ok then." She walked away looking confused.

***************

That Saturday, I ran into her in Diagon Alley. She was in Madam Malkin's getting new robes that would hide her growing stomach. I pretended to be looking for something while watching her out of the corner of my eye. When she went up to pay for them, I 'accidentally' bumped into her. I caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Than..." She stopped and glared at me when she realized who it was. "Watch where you're going Malfoy."

"Sorry Granger. Didn't see you there." I smirked at the shocked look on her face and walked out of the store.

***************

_'I don't want to do this... I don't want to do this... I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING DO THIS!'_

"Draco?" Pansy Parkinson tapped me on the shoulder and I flinched away in disgust. "Come on. The feast is over." I rose from the table and headed to the Slytherin Common Room.

I sat in front of the fire for hours, until I was sure everyone was asleep. Slipping out of the Common room, I ran for the Room of Requirement.

_'Where is it?'_ After wandering around the room for hours, I finally found it. The vanishing cabinet. I found my way back to the door, memorizing the route, and went back to my room.

***************

The whole next week, I went through classes in a daze. Looking back, I should have paid more attention. When classes were over for the week, I stole an apple from the kitchens and headed back to the Room of Requirement. I had been reseaching this since I received the mission. I cast a few spellson the inside and outside of the cabinet then placed the apple in it and closed the door.

_'One, two, three, four, fix, six, seven...'_ After counting to 100, I pulled the door open to reveal the same apple with a large bite mark on it. I picked the apple up, swung aroung and hurled the apple as hard as I could. Before it even hit the floor, I was sprinting out the door and slamming it shut behind me. About half way to the Slytherin Common room, I collapsed in an aclove... and cried.

"Hello?" Called a female voice. I held in my sobs, hoping who ever it was would just leave. "Hello?" I sighed and rubbed my face dry quickly. I stood and stepped out of the aclove to see Hermione Granger coming towards me. "Malfoy, are you ok?" She asked, suprisingly gentle.

"I'm fine." I replied harshly.

"Have you... Have you been crying?" She asked haltingly.

"Of course not! Malfoy's don't cry. Now get out of here, Mudblood." I snarled. I watched as her face turned red.

"I was just trying to help, Malfoy!"

"I don't need your help, you bushy haired know-it-all. Now get away from me!"

"You stupid, insuferable prat! You really need to stop being so rude. It's going to get you in major trouble one day, ferrett boy!" She turned on her heel and walked the other direction. I sighed. Granger knew I had been crying... What's to stop her from telling anyone?

"Granger!" I took off running down the hall. I reached her just around the corner.

"What, Malfoy?"

"I...I'm sorry ok?" Granger stared at me like I'd grown another head.

"You're apologizing?" She asked incredulously. I nodded.

"Yes." She looked at me suspiciously.

"What do you want?"

"Someone to talk to. Privatly of course. You want to help? You can listen and keep your mouth shut." I realized I had gotten desperate. Granger seemed to realize this. She considered my offer.

"Come on." She said walking past me. I followed her silently. She led me back to the Room of Reuirement and I watched as she walked back and forth in front of the wall. When a door appeared she pulled it open and beckoned me inside. I entered the room to find a small space with a cream colored couch, a dark wodden coffee table with 2 tea cups and a kettle, in front of a large flaming fireplace. She sat down on the couch and poured 2 cups of tea then motioned me to sit next to her. She took a sip of tea and then said, "Talk."

I took a second to make up a bullshit story then began, "My father is putting a lot of pressure on me to get a fancy desk job at the ministry." I gave a believeable sigh and continued, "I don't want to. That's not what I want at all." Granger glared at me.

"If you're just going to lie to me, then this is a complete waste of my time." She put her tea down on the table and went to get up. Just before she opened the door, I called out.

"Wait!" She paused, her hand on the door. "I apologize. It's hard for me to... open up to people." She sighed and made her way back to the couch.

"I can't help, if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"I'm not telling you specific's, Granger."

"Fine, give me the basic outline." I sighed.

"My father wants me to do something. I don't want to do it. He has this whole outline for my life, and I don't want to do any of it! I hate him." Once I started, it seemed like I couldn't stop. Suddenly I understood the expression 'vomiting words'. "I don't want to be like him. I dispise everything he stands for. But if I disobey him, even in the slightest, he'll kill me. And I'm not talking metaphorically. I mean literally, he'll kill me. My mother tells me to follow my heart all the time. Ignore what my father says. But I know better. He wants me to a bloody Death Eater!" I stood up angrily and began pacing infront of the dying fire. "I don't want that! I don't want to do any of this. I don't care if I die. But Vo... Father, threatened to kill my mother if I disobey." I looked away and stood still, knowing that she knew what I was going to say. I saw her stand out of the corner of my eye. She stepped around the table and came to stand infront of me. She placed a hand on my cheek and turned my face towards her. I closed my eyes at the rare human contact.

"Go to the Order of the Pheonix. They can help you. They can hide you from your father." I snorted a laugh.

"The Order? They'd kill me on sight! My father is a Death Eater, Hermione!" She looked shocked at my use of her first name, I was too.

"Tell them what your mission is. Tell them you don't want to do it." She argued.

"He would find me and kill me. No, worse. He wouldn't bother with me and he would kill my mother. I'm not willing to risk her life!"

"The Order would be able to get into Malfoy Manor and get your mother out. Without your father knowing until she's gone."

"The Order is a bunch of retards." I growled out. Her face turned red.

"If you're not willing to accept my help and advice, Malfoy, then I don't know why I'm trying!" She pushed past me and flew out the door before I could say anything.

***************

She avoided me after that. And Snape was pestering me about my mission constantly. It wasn't until Slughorn's christmas party did I realize how I felt about her. I had watched her closely. Trying to figure out if she was going to tell Potter and Weasley. But she never did.

During a Hogsmead visit I cursed a Gryffindor named Kaite Bell. No one caught me of course and it wasn't really meant for her, but the necklace never reached it's destination. Nor did the bottle of poisoned mead.

I was on my way back from the Room of Requirement one night when Filch caught me. He dragged me to the nearest teacher which just happened to be Slughorn. Thankfully Snape was there and offered to escort me out. When we got into the hallway he started talking.

"Are you the one that hexed that girl, Draco?"

"Maybe I did hex that Bell girl, maybe I didn't. What's it to you?" He shoved me against the wall.

"I swore to protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow."

"I don't need protection!" I snarled at him. "I was chosen for this, out of all others, me! And I won't fail him!"

"You're afraid Draco." Snape realized. "You attempt to conceal it but it's obvious. Let me assist you."

"No!" I cried. "I was chosen. This is my moment." I pushed away from him and strode down the hall. Down the hall and around the corner stood Hermione. Her face was pale. She had heard my dicussion with Snape. "How much of that did you hear?" I asked quietly.

"Enough." She said. "What were you chosen for?" She said it slowly, as if dreading the answer. I simply shrugged and started to walk away. She grabbed my robes and pulled me back. "Voldemort gave you a mission didn't he? And you did hex Katie!" I stared at her. "Don't do this Draco." It was the first time she had said my name and it took me aback. "You can be on the good side. All you have to do is try." She shrugged helplessly and walked down the hall, back the way I came.

***************

I spent weeks after Christmas break trying to fix that bloody cabinet. I finally got a bird to disappear and reappear. After that I moved on to bigger animals. Hermione's words were always in the back of my head. After a while, I quit working on the cabinet all together. It was practically finished anyways.

About 2 months after christmas break I entered the Great Hall. Potter was down the aisle from me talking to Bell. Suddenly, he looked straight at me. I glanced around the hall quickly, caught Hermione's eye, then turned and walked swiftly out all the way to the third floor girls lavatory. I losened my tie and pulled my jumper over my head and tossed it on the floor. I turned the faucet on and glanced in the mirror, breathing hard. Quickly, I splashed some water on my face and then placed my hands on either sink beside me and started crying.

"I know what you did Malfoy." Came Potter's voice. I looked up to the mirror and saw him standing in the doorway. "You hexed her didn't you?" I stared at him for a second before throwing a spell at him. He dodged it and shot one back at me. I took off running down a row of stalls. I stopped at the end and shot a spell at him as he came around the corner. Not stopping to see if it hit him, I swung around the corner and got on my hands and knees on the ground and looked under the stalls. A few seconds later, I saw his head come down on the other side. I shot another spell at him and scrambled to me feet.

I was standing on the other side of the stalls waiting for him to come into sight when he hit me with an unfimiliar spell. It hit me in the chest and flung me backwards. Merlin, it hurt. It felt like I had been slashed with a bunch of knives. I lifted my head to see blood quickly covering my shirt. My head fell back on the floor and I started crying again. I didn't want to do this anymore. I was dimly aware of the fact that Snape was hovering over me, muttering some spell, before I passed out cold.

***************

The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital wing. It was night so I tried to go back to sleep. Just as I was drifting off, the door to the wing opened. I turned my head and saw Hermione coming into the infimary. She silently came and sat next to me.

"Hey," I said quietly. My thraot was raw and I coughed roughly.

"Are you ok?" She asked. "I heard what happened. Harry didn't know what that spell would do."

"Of course not. Potter's an idiot."

"I suppose that was well deserved." She said calmly. She obviously wasn't too happy with him either.

"I'm done." I whispered. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"I don't want to be a Death Eater." I felt tears prick my eyes and I squeezed them shut. No way was I going to cry in front of her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Meet me in the Hog's Head tomorrow. It's a Hogsmeade weekend." I nodded and she stood and left.


	2. No Turning Back

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 2 - No Turning Back**

"I don't want to do it anymore. I'm tired of it all." I told her the next day in the Hog's Head. We were sitting in a corner, away from listening ears. "I'm tired of my mission and Voldemort and my father. Everything." I sighed heavily.

"What is your mission Draco?" She asked. It was reassuring to be called by my given name instead of my father's.

"I was supposed to kill Dumbledore." I avoided her eyes. "But I don't want to. My father told me that if I didn't complete the task that he would kill my mother. I can't lose her, I just can't. She's the only good thing in my life. She took care of me when no one else would." Her small hand rested on my arm and I looked up.

"Nothing is going to happen to her. The Order will see to it." I nodded, not sure I believed her. "All we need to do is go to Dumbledore. He'll get a group together to go get your mother so she's out of harms way. They'll hide and protect her so no one can get to her." I snorted.

"You obviously don't know my father. He'll find her no matter where she is."

"And you obviously don't know Dumbledore." She retorted.

***************

"I told she'd get out." Hermione told me the next day, handing me the _Daily Prophet_. The headline screamed out at me.

**Narcissa Malfoy Missing**

Of course, I knew she wasn't. She was being held in a safe house somewhere in Britain. Dumbledore told me that I could see her when it was safe. I didn't want to talk about this right now.

"How far along are you?" I asked her, realizing too late my mistake.

"What?"

"Ummm… nothing." I said quickly.

"How do you know? I haven't told anyone but Harry, Ron and Ginny." I sighed, knowing I had to tell her the truth.

"It was me at the market that day. I didn't tell you because I didn't want it getting around that I was working at a muggle market. My father doesn't even know. He thinks I just go on vacation a lot. Which, I do. Anywhere is a vacation after Malfoy Manor." She stared at me, her mouth hanging open.

"I knew you looked familiar." She said finally. "And to answer your question, I'm 7 months."

"Shouldn't you be showing by now?" I asked, glancing at her stomach. No way I would have missed that.

"Concealing charm." She said simply.

"Who's the father?" I asked, trying to seem uninterested and failing miserably. I want to go beat the bloke to a bloody pulp.

"His name is Matt." She said biting her lip and looking away.

"You seem upset about it…"

"Yes well. Anyone would be after getting raped and finding out a month later that they're pregnant." She hastily got up and shot out of the Room of Requirement where we had been talking. I had changed my mind. I didn't want to beat him to a pulp. I wanted to rip his balls off, shove them down his throat, and tear him to pieces.

***************

_I knew I was dreaming. But Merlin! It felt seemed real. Hermione stood in front of me, glowing with pregnancy. She wore a black spaghetti strap dress that showed off her bulging stomach. She looked so beautiful. My heart swelled with… something. Suddenly, the image was being ripped painfully away from me. I was left standing in front of an old man. His silver hair was shinning in the moonlight._

_The image pulled back and I noticed the frame around the old man. Reaching out, I felt glass. I was looking into a mirror. I studied my reflection closely. I looked to be about 150-200. And I seemed to have a constant sadness about me, as if my life were one big bad dream. Suddenly, my reflection reached out and grabbed me by the shirt._

"_Help her!" yelled the old man. "Or this is what you will become." He calmly stepped back into the mirror. His face became contorted with pain. "Hermione…" He whispered. A gust of wind came by and the mirror swirled away like dust, leaving me…_

…shooting up from my bed, breathing heavily.

"Hermione…" I whispered into the dark. I jumped out of bed quickly and strode to the door, making my way to Hermione's private room. Dumbledore had set it up for her so that towards the end of the year, when that baby came, the other students wouldn't be woken to crying. I practically ran to the 3rd floor and to her room.

"Otter," I told the portrait. She had given me the password incase I ever needed to talk to her.

I pulled Hermione's door open quietly and walking through the living quarters, headed to her bedroom. She was laying on her bed, facing away from me. Her shoulders were shaking. Was she crying?

"Hermione?" She jumped at the sound of my voice and slowly turned to face me. "Are you ok?" I asked softly. She shook her head. I crossed the room to her bed and sat next to her, rubbing her back gently. She grabbed my shirt and pulled me down on the bed with her. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry. She slowly drifted off to sleep in my arms.

I studied her. She really was beautiful. Even with her hair a mess and her eyes puffy from crying. I brushed a strand of hair away from her face and she sighed in her sleep, smiling slightly.

_Merlin, she's amazing. I love her so much._

Whoa! Where did that come from?! I didn't love her! Did I…? I carefully thought about that. I had only ever told my mother that I loved her. But I certainly didn't look at Hermione as anything like my mother. I cared about her, sure. She had reached out to me when no one else had. She was an amazing person with a big heart.

I thought about earlier that week when she had told me about that bloke. The one I wanted to kill, slowly and painfully. He had hurt her and I didn't like it. I looked down at her. How could anyone hurt something so sweet, beautiful and innocent? With a shock, I realized something…

I did love her.

***************

I agonized over my realization for weeks. Until finally, it came, a chance for me to tell her part of how I felt about her. I had just walked into the Great Hall for lunch when I saw her run out of the room and up the steps. For being almost 8 months pregnant the girl sure can run! I turned around and followed her to the 3rd floor. I caught her door just as it was shutting.

I stepped in and found her crying on the floor in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around her bulging stomach. She had obviously taken the charm off. I walked over and picked her up, carrying her to the couch and setting her down. I wrapped my arms around her and let her calm down before speaking.

"Are you ok?" She shook head against my chest. "What happened?"

"Someone found out." She whispered. "It's all over the school." Well, shit.

"Do you know who it was?" Again, she shook her head. I sighed. "It was bound to come out sooner or later, 'Mione. A charm can't cover it forever." I said into her hair. Suddenly she was punching every part of me she could reach. I quickly grabbed her hands. "Hermione?!" She glared at me. "What was that for?"

"Don't call me fat!" She hissed.

"I wasn't calling you fat. The baby is growing so naturally your stomach is going to start showing even with a charm. You're far from fat. You're beautiful." It had just slipped out. I hadn't meant for it to, but slip out it did. She looked at me strangely.

"Really?" She asked finally. I nodded slowly and she smiled. "Thanks." I suddenly realized that our faces were much closer than I had expected. My gaze traveled over her face, from her chocolate brown eyes, to the freckles across her cute little nose, down to her smiling lips. Throwing caution to the wind, I bent my head and pressed my lips against hers. It was like my body was set on fire. Electric sparks flowed over my body and I had to repress a moan as they shot towards my groin. I had to repress it again as Hermione pressed her body against mine. She was so soft. I pulled back after a moment and heard a whimper escape her lips.

I placed my forehead against hers and said quietly, "If we keep going any longer, I won't be able to stop." She got my meaning and pulled back a bit. I spun her around and pulled her onto my lap. She snuggled up against my chest and I soon felt the steady rise and fall of her chest which signaled that she had fallen asleep, once again in my arms.

***************

If my father knew that I was dating a muggleborn he would, quite literally, hunt me down and kill me. Hermione wasn't happy with it but we had to keep our relationship quiet. She insisted on tell Potter and the Weasleys, and eventually I let her. Needless to say, they were not happy about it.

"What's he done too you?" Weaselbee roared. She had asked them to meet us in her rooms, which is where we all stood now. "He's put some spell on you hasn't he?"

"No Ronald! He hasn't." She was furious with them. She looked adorable, her face all red like that. Weaselbee pulled his wand out and pointed it at me. I stood up slowly.

"If you're going to curse me, Weasel just do it. I'd gladly take a curse or two for Hermione." He looked confused as I said this. "Like it or not, I care a great deal about her and there's nothing that any of you can say or do to change that." In the back of my head, I knew I wanted to piss them off a bit. But kissing her in front of them was mainly about proving to them that I really did care about her. I gently took her hand and turned her to face me. Placing my hand on her cheek, I bent forwards to press a soft kiss on her lips. I turned back to see a red faced Weasley. Potter and Weaselette's mouths were hanging open and they were staring at me in disbelief. "If the 3 of you don't mind, I'd like you to leave." I said calmly. "All you're doing is upsetting her, and it's not good for the baby." Silently, they all headed for the door, trying to digest what they had just seen. Before they reached the door, Weaselette grabbed Potter's hand and pulled him back. She threw her arms around Hermione.

"I'm happy for you." She told her. She seemed genuine. "As long as your happy, even if it is with the ferret, I'll be here for you, ok?" Hermione nodded her head.

"Yeah, me too." Potter said grudgingly.

"WHAT?!" Weasley exploded. "YOU'RE TRUSTING HIM WITH HERMIONE?!"

"Yes Ronald!" Weaslette screamed back at him. "And if you knew anything about Hermione, you'd be able to tell that she's happy with him!"

"We're supposed to be her friends, Ron. When she's happy, we're happy for her." Weasley turned purple and stomped out of the room. Potter said, "Don't worry, 'Mione. He'll come around." She nodded and they left.

"Well, that wasn't expected." I said after they left.

"Harry and Ginny are good friends. Ron is too, it just takes him a while longer." She replied. She shrugged and sat down on the couch. "He'll come around and realize what an arse he was. He always does."

***************

It was the next day when the potions accident happened. I still to this day cannot remember what the potion was and nor can Hermione. It wasn't important. All that was important were the effects of the explosion that Weasley caused. We were split up in to pairs by Slughorn. Hermione and I were together. Weasley and Pansy were together.

"If Weasley weren't such an arse, I'd feel sorry for him." I told Hermione quietly, chuckling. She smiled and held back a laugh. We were halfway through the potion when an explosion shook the classroom and purple smoke filled the room. My right arm started tingling. Reaching through the smoke, I grabbed Hermione's hand and ran out of the classroom, with her in tow, following the other students.

"Is everyone alright?" Slughorn asked, after we were all out in the hall. Everyone nodded. He stuck his head in the classroom and cast a cleansing charm. "Alright, everyone back inside. Weasley, try not to add so much beetle wing next time."

We filed back into the room and finished up our potions. I had planned to go back to my room afterwards to work on some homework but that thought quickly vanished when I got to the door to leave.

I stepped out of the classroom and a searing pain ripped through me. Behind me, I heard Hermione yell out in pain.

"Mr. Malfoy get back in here!" Slughorn bellowed, realizing something was wrong. "It seems the explosion caused an effect on you and Ms. Granger." I frowned and walked over to her. The pain vanished. "Are you both alright?" We nodded. "Good, good. Mr. Malfoy come stand by Ms. Granger." I did as instructed and he waved his wand in front of me and then her. He frowned. "It seems that the potion has placed a curse on you. Mr. Malfoy would you please walk back to the door. We need to see how far you can be apart." I walked until I had just left the classroom before the pain returned and I doubled over, falling back into the classroom. "It's either a hundred yards or you have to be in the same room. This has happened before of course, but there's nothing I can do to reverse it. You just have to wait it out." He told us.

"Professor, we have separate dorms all the way across the school. How are we supposed to sleep?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sure you know of the Room of Requirement. I will inform Dumbledore of the events and he will probably suggest sleeping there. You both have the same classes so that shouldn't be an issue."

Slughorn was right of course, Dumbledore suggested sleeping in the Room of Requirement. I walked around the castle next to Hermione all day. I had a feeling word would reach Lucius soon.

Later that week, on Friday, we were sitting in the Room of Requirement, an owl flew through the window and I groaned. The owl was black with small grey spots and regal looking. Lucius. I walked over to the owl and opened the letter, turning it away from Hermione so she couldn't see. The owl took off immediately. Guess he doesn't want a reply.

_Draco,_

_This event in unacceptable. Associating with a Mudblood? What are you thinking boy? I want you in the library at all hours finding a way out of this situation. I do not want my line dirtied because of incompetence. If you cannot find an acceptable spell, dispose of her immediately._

_Signed,  
Your father_

I crumpled up the letter and tossed it on the floor. A quill, ink and parchment appeared in front of me and I scribbled out a reply before climbing into the bed that had appeared. Hermione joined me a few minutes later, snuggling close to me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her growing stomach. Turning on my side to face her, I pressed a kiss to her lips. Her little hands slid up my shirt and I moaned at the contact. Tilting my head slightly, I deepened the kiss, running my tongue along her lips, asking for entrance. She allowed it and I pulled her as close as possible with her stomach between us.

She unbuttoned my shirt and pushed it off. Shivers ran down my body when she raked her fingernails down my back. When her hands went to my belt, I pulled back and rested my forehead against hers.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly, smirking slightly.

"I want you." She whispered. Electricity ran through my body, centering at my groin, as she said those words.

"Are you sure?" I asked softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She nodded quickly. I brought my lips back down to hers.

"You wish is my command." I murmured against her lips before kissing her passionately. She unbuckled my belt and pushed my jeans down before I kicked them off and onto the floor. I had always loved the girls school uniform. It often haunted my dreams. I thought about this as I unbuttoned her white maternity cotton shirt, my mouth never leaving hers, and pulled off her black skirt. We lay there kissing and touching, trying to memorized each others bodies, her in her matching black bra and knickers and me in my silk green boxers. I let out a moan when her hand brushed against my groin and Draco Jr. jumped to attention once again. Curiously, she pulled back and looked down, brushing her hand against it again. When I tensed, she looked up and smirked, almost better than I did.

She slid down the bed and pushed my boxers down, freeing my already throbbing member. Damn the libido of a teenage boy. All thoughts left my mind the instant she wrapped her hand around me. A gasp left my lips when she flicked her thumb over the head. She stroked it softly for a few moments, getting used to it, before sliding up my body and kissing my hungrily. I ran my hands up her smooth thighs, stopping at her hips before reaching between us to her soaking knickers. She moaned as I ran a finger over the front of them. I pushed them aside to caress the folds it had hidden. She gasped as my finger may contact with the sensitive bundle of nerves. Reaching around with my other hand, I flicked her bra open and pulled it off her before rolling her over on her back and pulling her knickers down. I settled gently on top of her, propping myself up with my elbows, trying not to squish her or the baby. She let out a moan as our bodies touched.

I kissed her gently as I positioned myself at her entrance. Praying I wouldn't hurt her, I pushed inside her incredible warmth. She stiffened.

"Are you ok?" I asked softly. She nodded and wiggled a bit. I moaned at the feeling and pushed all the way in. She groaned and I almost lost it right there. I paused to give her time to adjust. When she nodded, I pulled almost all the way out before sliding smoothly back in. She pulled me down to kiss her and I did so hungrily and a bit awkwardly, trying to bend over her stomach. Starting slowly, as to not hurt her, I found a steady pace. When she began emitting sounds of pleasure, I picked up the pace. I told myself that I wouldn't come until she had and I stuck to the promise, though just barely.

When I felt her walls squeeze me with her orgasm, I gripped her hips and pushed into her once, twice, three more times.

"Draco!" I heard her call out as she came. The sound of her voice, so full of passion, made me come undone. Biting her neck, sucking gently, I growled and spilled inside of her. I rested next to her, allowing us to catch our breath. Without thinking about it, the words fell out.

"I love you." I said softly. I rolled over on my side and pulled her close to me, wrapping my arms around her.

"Really?" She asked looking up at me. I smoothed her hair away from her face and nodded. She smiled and snuggled into my chest, falling asleep quickly.

***************

I woke up the next morning to a slap in the face. I shot up out of bed.

"What was that for?" I asked Hermione, rubbing my cheek. She shoved a piece of parchment in my face and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust enough to read it.

_Father, _

_I am more angered by this than you are. Do you really think I want to be stuck with a Mudblood day and night? I will do whatever is necessary to rid myself of her._

_Signed,  
Draco Malfoy_

I hastily climbed out of bed and she stepped away, glaring at me.

"Hermione, I had to make my father believe that so he doesn't suspect anything. If he did, he'd kill both of us on the spot." I sighed as she continued glaring at me. I took a step towards her, forgetting I was starkers. I was quickly aware of the fact as I stepped in front her and her knee came up. I doubled over in pain and groaned, falling on the floor.

"The owl didn't want a reply! You didn't have to write one!" She screamed at me, throwing the letter in my face. Taking a breath I stood up again.

"Hermione, if my father had any idea of even half of what I feel for you, he would torture us to death, literally." I groaned. I went to the side of the bed and hastily got dressed. "I wrote that to him so that he won't think anything is going on between us. Where's my damn shirt?" I growled. I was quickly getting furious. I knew exactly where my shirt was but even if Hermione was furious with me right now, I knew she'd be fine when she realized that I had done it to protect her. I transfigured a curtain into a white button up shirt and pulled it on, walking to the door. "When you realize that I wrote what I wrote to protect _you_ come find me." I growled at her before slamming the door shut.


	3. Meeting Mrs Malfoy

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 3 – Meeting Mrs. Malfoy**

I glanced around outside the Room of Requirement. Apparently, the curse had broken. I practically ran to the Slytherin Common Room. Thank god it was Saturday. I could lock myself in my room all day. And I did just that.

Finally, around dinner time, my hunger got the best of me and I headed to the Great Hall. Hermione was nowhere in sight. Nor did she show up later. As the week went on Hermione avoided me whenever possible. She sat as far away from me as she could in classes and she never showed up for meals.

"Malfoy!" I spun around to see Weaselette striding towards me on Friday evening. "We need to talk." She growled. I followed her down the hall to an abandoned classroom. Once inside, she sighed and sat down on a desk. "Hermione's horrible without you. She never talks to anyone. And when she does she's extremely snappy. I haven't seen her eat in days, though Harry assures me that she goes to the kitchens and eats. She won't tell us what happened so I'm hoping you will." She glared at me. I cleared my throat, sat down on the desk across from hers and started explaining. When I was finished, I looked up to see a thoughtful expression on her face. She looked at me. "I understand why you did it. You wanted to keep her safe. But there's something you need to understand. Hermione is usually a very open person. She doesn't like hiding things. She was getting tired of sneaking around with you before any of this happened and I'm guessing that letter was the breaking point for her."

"Weas…" I sighed dejectedly. "Ginny. If my father were to find out about how much I care for Hermione… He'd kill us both. Or worse, he'd kill her and make me watch. I refuse to let anything happen too her."

***************

As it turned out, I didn't have any say in whether or not people knew how _she_ felt about _me_. And I quickly figured this out on the day of a Quidditch game between Slytherin and Hufflepuff. The next Saturday afternoon, as I sat down for lunch, she came striding in. My jaw dropped. She had straightened her hair and was wearing make-up. But that's not what caught my attention. It was her outfit that was drawing the most attention. She was wearing tight black jeans and my white button up shirt I had left in the Room of Requirement. She had obviously charmed it not to show her 8 ½ month rounded stomach as much, though her stomach was still sticking out a bit. She had charmed the front to read 'I love my Slytherin' in big bold green letters. As she walked past people, they turned to stare at me. I didn't understand why until she sat at the Gryffindor table, her back to me. _Oh shit._ The back of the shirt read, 'Go Draco!'

I hastily got up from the table and strode over to her.

"Can I have a word with you?" I whispered to her. She glanced around before nodding. "Are you crazy?! You know my father comes to every Quidditch match that I have!" I yelled at her when we were out of ear shot of the Hall. She simply shrugged. I folded my arms of my Quidditch uniform. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." She spun around to leave but I grabbed her arm. He turned back to me and I pushed her against the wall.

"I love your shirt." I smirked at her before kissing her feircly. When I pulled back, I sighed. "Please go change it."

"No." She said stubbornly.

"Please?! I don't want my father to see it."

"I don't care if he sees it."

"I do! I fucking care a lot! If he sees it, he'll do everything he can to kill you." I rested my forehead against hers. "I don't want to lose you, 'Mione." I said softly, running my thumb across her lips. "You're everything to me."

Suddenly, I felt something bump agasint my stomach. I pulled away and looked down.

"What was that?" I asked her. She laughed at the look on my face.

"It was the baby kicking." She reached out and placed my hand on her stomach. A few moments later I felt a bump against my hand and smiled. Glancing up at her quickly, I got on my knees in front of her so my face was level with her stomach. I placed my other hand on her stomach as well before kissing her covered stomach.

"Yes baby, I love you too. Now tell mommy to go change her shirt."

"I'm not changing it." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. She bit her lip for a second before pulling me into a hug. "I love you, Draco. And I don't care who knows it." She whispered into my ear. "I'm tired of hiding my feelings for you." She pulled back. "I'm a big girl. I can defend myself." I decided to give up for the moment and kissed her. I quickly lost myself in her lips and then again neck.

"I see you two have made up." Came Ginny's voice behind us. I pulled away from her neck to see a large red love bite on the side of her neck.

"We'll be there in a second." I told her, not taking my eyes from Hermione.

"Well you'd better hurry people will be leaving the Great Hall in a few minutes and you guys are pretty visible." I nodded then heard her walking away. I sighed and decided to give up.

"Walk me to the Quidditch pitch?" She nodded and we left the castle.

When we arrived on the pitch, I glanced up at the visitors section. My father was seated there glaring at me. I inwardly groaned. Well, if I was going to piss him off I might as well go all the way. We reached the Slytherin changing rooms and I glanced up to make sure Lucius was watching before pushing Hermione against the wall and kissing her deeply.

"I thought you didn't want your father knowing?" She asked when I pulled away.

"Well, I figure he won't try anything at Hogwarts because of Dumbledore. I also figure that if I'm going to piss him off, I might as well have fun doing it." She grinned.

"Should I take off the charm on my stomach so he thinks it's yours?" I laughed.

"As great as it would be to see him spontaneously combust, I don't want anything to happen to the baby." I told her. "By the way, I was going to ask you something before that whole fight started…"

"What's that?" She asked.

"I was wondering… How you would feel about me… taking the place of a dad for the baby." I rubbed her stomach between us. She smiled bigger than I'd ever seen her smile. Her whole face lit up and my heart filled with love for her.

"Of course. I'd love that."

"Is he watching?" I asked. She nodded and I got on my knees again and placed my head against her stomach.

"Hey baby. I can't wait to meet you. I'm going to be your daddy." I placed a kiss on her stomach and got to my feet. "What's he look like?"

"He's turning purple." She laughed.

"Good. Might as well take the charm off now." I said, grinning at her. She pulled out her wand and did just that.

"So it's true? You really are dating Granger?" came a voice behind us. I turned around relaxed. Blaise was behind us. With tanned skin, tousled brown hair and bright blue eyes, he was often my competition with the girls.

"Yeah Blaise. It's true." Blaise nodded and held out his hand to Hermione, who looked at it suspiciously.

"Just take it Granger." He laughed. She glanced at me and I nodded. I knew he wouldn't hurt her. He could see that I was happy. "Good to meet you officially." Blaise said when she took his hand. "You're dear old dad looks like he's gonna burst a blood vessel in his head." He told me.

"Yeah. Needless to say he's not happy. But I really don't care." I shrugged and leaned over to kiss Hermione's temple.

"Well, we better get in there." Blaise said. I nodded and turned to Hermione.

"Go find Potter, Weasley and Ginny. Don't leave their sides and keep your wand ready at all times." She nodded and I gave her one last kiss before heading into the changing room

***************

"We won!" Blaise yelled as I touched down on the ground, the snitch in hand.

"No shit we did!" I yelled back. Something came flying into me and I was knocked down. Blaise was laughing so hard he couldn't breath as I pushed brown hair out of my face to smile up at Hermione. "We should do this position more often, I quite like it." I quirked an eyebrow at her. She was sitting on top of me and smacked my chest. She got up and pulled me to my feet before wrapping her arms around me and pressing a kiss to my lips. I didn't notice that Blaise had gone extremely quiet until a voice came from behind me.

"Congratulations Draco," I froze at the sound of Lucius's voice. I turned around and pushed Hermione behind me, hoping he wouldn't notice her presence. The thought was quickly shot down as he said, "Good afternoon Ms. Granger." To most people, he sounded polite. But I knew by the way his wand hand was twitching that he was fighting the urge to kill her here and now. He quirked an eyebrow when I grasped Hermione's hand but he said nothing. He gaze kept shooting towards Hermione stomach and I didn't dare move from in front of her. "Perhaps you will have a chance of beating Gryffindor in the Quidditch cup this year." He studied his nails to hide the twitching in his hand.

Suddenly, Blaise was diving in front of us. Several people screamed as he was hit with a beam of light and fell to the ground. I crouched over Blaise, pulling Hermione down with me. I sighed in relief when I felt a pulse in his neck. I looked up but Lucius was nowhere to be seen.

I levitated Blaise to the Hospital Wing, Hermione walking beside me, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly. We were quiet while we walked and while Madam Pomfrey checked him over.

"It would have killed him where he the intended target. We just have to wait for him to wake up." She told us finally. I glanced at Hermione, knowing perfectly well that she was the intended target. Madam Pomfrey left us.

Hermione stood up and sat on the edge of Blaise's bed and placed a hand on his arm.

"Thank you." She whispered before bending over to place a kiss on his cheek. A shot of jealousy coursed through me but I ignored it. I knew how Hermione felt about me. "He really does want to kill me doesn't he?" She asked, still looking down at Blaise.

"Yes. Probably the baby now too." I replied. "That's why I was so furious with you for wearing that shirt." She nodded and stood up.

"Come on." She said.

"I'm not leaving Blaise." I shook my head quickly. "He risked his life to save one of us."

"He'll be fine." She said gently, grabbing my hand. "We need to go see Dumbledore so that no one else has to risk their lives." Finally, I nodded and followed her.

We reached Dumbldore's office and explained everything to him.

"Well, I do have a solution. But you will not like it." He said finally.

"I'm willing to do anything to keep Hermione safe." I told him firmly. The old man nodded.

"It would involve quitting school." Hermione frowned. "You could, of course, both study for your NEWTs and take them with the 7th years either this year or next, I have no doubt that you're both smart enough. You could quit school now and go stay at a safe house with Narcissa. When it is safe, you could come back and do your finishing exams and graduate."

I considered this for a moment. I could see my mother. She could meet Hermione. And we'd still be able to take our exams and graduate. Not to mention we would be together 24/7. No classes. And I could be there for her when the baby is born. It sounded like a great idea to me.

"I suppose we could do that, though I don't fancy quitting school." Hermione said.

"Yeah, we know." I said rolling my eyes at her. "I like it too. It will be nice to see my mother again."

***************

The next day, we gathered out belongings and left with Snape in the middle of the night.

"You know where we're going Ms. Granger. Apparate there and we will join you shortly." Snape told her as we were standing in Hogsmeade. She nodded and disappeared with a crack. He turned to me. "You needn't worry about Lucius finding you here. Even Voldemort himself doesn't know where your mother is." He paused. "Is Ms. Granger really worth all of this though? Quitting school? Going into hiding?" I nodded. I didn't even have to think about it. He sighed and grabbed my arm, turning in a circle.

I felt the familiar feeling of being squeezed through a tube before we landed in a park. He started walking forward and I followed, wand out. We stopped in front of a row of houses. Hermione was nowhere in sight.

"She's already inside." Snape explained, sensing my panic. He seemed to be waiting for something. Just as I began wondering what it was the houses started shifting. Glancing at the houses, I noticed that the number 12 was missing. It went from 11 to 13. I watched in amazement as a house appeared between 11 and 13. As it finished, Snape strode to the door.

We entered into complete darkness. Snape lit his wand and walked down the hall. I followed him the very end, where a door stood. Pulling back a drape to the left side of the hall, I saw a set of stairs. We went through the door and entered a dimly lit kitchen.

"Dragon…" It felt like forever since I'd heard my mother's voice. She was sitting at the table in muggle clothes, cup of tea placed in front of her, hair piled gently onto of her head. She stood and walked towards me, smiling. Pulling me into a hug she whispered, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Mum." I said as she pulled back. Hermione walked into the room at that moment. I smiled at her. "Mum, have you met Hermione yet?"

"For a brief moment when she came in." My mother replied.

"This is Hermione Granger," I grabbed Hermione's hand firmly. Mother looked at Hermione's stomach in shock. "Hermione, this is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hermione." Mother said smiling gently at her. She held out her hand and Hermione shook it slowly.

"You too, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Please call me Narcissa." Hermione nodded and stifled a yawn. "You both look exhausted. Why do you go on up to bed. We can chat tomorrow." I nodded and Hermione led me out of the room and up the stairs.

"Are we allowed to share a room?" I asked, suggestively. Hermione chuckled.

"I figured you'd want to." She stopped in front of a door and pushed it open, walking inside. It wasn't much but it would do. There was a large king size bed in the middle covered in a black comforter, to the left of the door sat a desk and book shelves, and a wardrobe sat on either side of the bed. I sat down and watched as Hermione stripped down. She glanced over at me and smiled. "What?" She asked.

"Come here, love." I told her. She walked over to stand between my legs in front of me. She looked so amazing. Her hair was tied back with a hair tie and a green ribbon was tied around it. She stood before me in matching lacy purple bra and knickers, her stomach bulging out in front of her, belly button sticking out. I kissed her stomach gently, just below her belly button.

"I love you both so much." I whispered. "I'd be hunting my father down right now if that spell had hit you." A tear slipped down my face at the though. Hermione tilted my head up and brushed it away before kneeling in front of me.

"It didn't." She said back. "Blaise saved us." I nodded and pulled her up on the bed with me. She lay facing me and I brushed a hair out of her face, kissing her softly. She soon fell asleep and I spent the next hour silently thanking Blaise for saving her.

***************

"Good morning, Dragon." Mother said when I went down to the kitchen the next morning. I smiled at her familiar nickname for me.

"Good morning, Mum." She turned and gazed at me.

"Am I to believe I'm going to a grandmother?" She asked me sternly. I laughed.

"You never were one to beat around the bush." I told her. "Technically, the baby is not mine. But that doesn't change the fact that I want him or her to call me daddy." My mother nodded and turned back to her paper. We talked about Hogwarts, baby things, and fond memories for a while until Hermione got up. When she entered the kitchen Mother jumped up.

"What would you like to eat Hermione?" She asked polielty. Hermione stared at her in shock.

"Umm… Just some toast is fine."

"Nonsense! You're pregnant. You need to eat better." Hermione turned red with embarrassment as Mother turned to start cooking. Hermione sat down next to me.

"You should feel lucky. Mother doesn't even cook for me." I chuckled.

"Yes well, you're my son. Not my soon-to-be daughter-in-law and grandchild." Mother said matter-of-factly.

"Soon-to-be daughter-in-law?" I asked her, jokingly. "What makes you think that? Maybe I don't want to get married." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hermione frown and I mentally smacked myself. My mother whirled around and pointed her spatula at me.

"If you don't get married, Dragon, I will personally make sure you never have children of your own." My jaw dropped open.

"What?"

"You may not enjoy being a Malfoy but it is not a good example to have children outside of marriage. And above all a Malfoy is suppose to set a good example." I snorted in my tea.

"Oh yes. Because being a Death Eater is such a good..." I paused as Hermione quickly walked out of the door. I could hear her running up the stairs. "Shit. Mother, could you watch what you say in front of her?" I asked her angrily.

"What?" She asked in shock.

"She's already upset enough with her pregnancy. It wasn't exactly her choice. Scratch that, it wasn't her choice at all."

"Are you saying… Was she raped?" Mother asked. I nodded and her hand rose to cover her open mouth. "I'm so sorry. Please go apologize for me." I nodded and rose from the table. "I'll have breakfast ready when you get back." She called as I left the kitchen. I walked up the stairs and when I reached the second landing, I could hear her crying. I walked down the hall and pushed our door open. Crossing the room, I sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, the other rubbing her almost 9 month stomach gently.

"She didn't know, love. She said she's sorry." Hermione just nodded and continued crying. I sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Do… do you r-r-really not w-want to get m-m-married?" She sniffed.

"Of course I want to get married. I was only joking with her." Hermione nodded and we headed back down to the kitchen after she washed her face an hour later.

As promised, Mother had filled the table with plates of the usual; pancakes, bacon, sausage, biscuits, eggs, porriage, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes and lots of fruit. She also had the more extravagant; black pudding, bubble & squeak, and smoked salmon in scrambled eggs.

"Wow." Hermione said seeing all the food. My mouth instantly started watering and I was suddenly starving! We both sat down at the table. Hermione took a bit of everything. I took a lot of everything. Mother smacked me on the back of the hand with her butter knife as I reached for more bacon.

"Leave some for Hermione!"


	4. Alexander James Malfoy

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

_Pertaining to reviews I have received in the past on previous stories: I have never been to the UK so I would not know how British people speak. No one is perfect, I know there are bound to be a few errors in my stories. Please do not point them out, unless you are confused about something, in which case I will gladly explain further. Fanfics are not made to be taken seriously. They are based on fiction not real life. Furthermore, If you write a review simply to complain about my writing please do not review at all. I enjoy criticism to my stories, it helps me become a better writer. However, there is a difference between criticism and complaining._

_That said, I hope I didn't offend anyone with my rant. And if I did I apologize, my comments weren't directed at any one in particular._

_Thanks for reading._

**Chapter 4 – Alexander James Malfoy**

We were at Number 12 Grimmauld Place for no longer than a week before Hermione went into labor around 2 am on April 5th. I sat by her side for a total of 6 hours, holding her hand and coaching her through it with the help of Madam Pomfrey, who had come from Hogwarts to help.

"He's so tiny…" I said in awe. She had given birth a little over an hour ago and was now feeding him, laying on the bed.

"He was just born, Draco." Hermione laughed.

"I know but he's just so… small." I finished lamely.

"He's tiny and perfect." Hermione cooed at the baby.

"What are you going to name him?" I asked, stroking a finger against the soft dark brown hair that already covered his head.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking maybe Tyler? Or Alexander? What… what do you think?" She asked, not looking at me.

"What do I think? I think it's your choice."

"Yes… But you said before that you wanted to be his father…" She looked at me apprehensively.

"And I do." I confirmed. "I like Alexander." She smiled.

"Middle name?"

"Nicholas?" Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Ok, no Nicholas." I said, laughing. "How about… Xavier? That's my middle name."

"Alexander Xavier? No."

"Alexander James?"

"You know that's Harry's middle name right?"

"Ok… Maybe not."

"I kind of like it though. Alexander James."

"It's alright… But it's Potter's middle name!"

"So? Harry is one of my best friends." I sighed.

"Alright. Alexander James it is."

"Alexander James Malfoy." Hermione said. My chest swelled with pride. She was giving him my last name? I hadn't expected that but I was beyond pleased with it.

***************

Hermione and I spent our days with Alexander and my mum. Mum adored Alex. She took him in like he was her own grandchild, which he basically was. Blaise owled me to let me know that he was out of the hospital wing and doing fine. He asked for a picture of Alex and I sent him one. He was always owling me and asking about Hermione and Alex.

Alex was growing quickly. He had soft dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. One day in June, Hermione and I got clearance from Dumbledore to go in to muggle London. Lupin had to go with us. Alex desperately needed clothes. He was almost 3 months old and all he had was newborn clothes. Most of the time we'd just leave him in his nappy and called it good.

Hermione found a store in Tottenham, London called Rub-A-Dub-Dub where we bought more nappies, a Trip-Trap high chair, a bunch of clothes, and a blue pram with a matching crib. We were on our way back to Grimmauld Place when we ran into him.

"Hermione?!" We both turned towards the voice and I felt Hermione stiffen beside me. A guy about my height, though he looked older, stood on the sidewalk. His dark brown hair was messy and fell into his blue eyes, which were slightly red. It was obvious the guy was high on something.

"Matt…" The name sounded familiar but I couldn't place it.

"How are you?" He asked, trying to sound offhanded.

"I've never been better." Hermione replied rudely. Suddenly, I knew exactly who this was. Matt was the guy that forced himself on Hermione. He was Alexander's father. My fists clenched in rage and it took all my will power not to kill the guy in the middle of the street. "This is my boyfriend, Draco." Hermione said stressing the word 'boyfriend'. "And our friend Remus."

"And who's the baby?" Matt asked.

"He's mine." I growled. Matt looked at me in shock.

"But he doesn't look a thing like you." Matt pointed out.

"He's _mine._" I repeated.

"Sure, sure. Whatever." He waved me off and I clenched my jaw. "So, Hermione. I've been trying to get a hold of you. I was wondering if maybe you'd be interested in having dinner with me. We could have some fun afterwards, like last summer." He smirked at her and I resisted the urge to punch his lights out. I wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist, hoping she knew I was there for her.

"No thank you." Hermione replied stiffly.

"But we had so much fun." He replied, smirking. Lupin seemed to sense that something wasn't right.

"I apologize but we must get going." I tried to steer Hermione away but Matt reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm. I lost it. Releasing my hold on Hermione, I turned around and punched the guy straight in the face. He released Hermione and fell to the ground.

"Don't you dare touch her." I growled at him. "If you ever so much as lay a finger on her again, I'll rip your head off." I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see Hermione looking at me with gratitude. I managed to smile at her, took Alex out of her arms and we started to walk away.

"I know that baby's mine. The thing looks just like me." Matt called after us. I froze in mid-step. I handed Alex to Hermione and spun around.

"Draco, don't." Hermione said. I ignored her and went to stand in front of Matt.

"Don't call my son a 'thing'. And it doesn't matter if he's yours or not. Your shite. You don't deserve to live as far as I'm concerned. Any bloke that forces himself on a woman deserves to die painfully and slowly." I said this all in a calm voice, a feat that still shocks me to this day. "If I ever see you anywhere near Hermione or our son again I will personally rip your nuts off and shove them down your throat." I quirked an eyebrow and waited for him to say something.

"The kid is mine. I have a right to see him. Right, Hermione?" He glanced behind me and I pray to Merlin that Hermione said no. I didn't hear anything so I started speaking again, displaying the famous Malfoy smirk.

"Someone like you doesn't have the balls to be anything but a sperm donor. If you really think that you have a right to see him why don't you go to the courts and request visitation?" I cocked my head to the side and waited for him to retort. When he didn't I said, "I'll say this once more. Stay the bloody hell away from my family." I returned to Hermione, took Alex from her, and we left.

***************

The owl came a few days later.

_Dear Ms. Hermione Granger, _

_It has come to our attention that a muggle by the name of Matthew David Simons has requested visitation rights to Alexander James Malfoy following a paternity test. Please come to the Ministry of Magic, Department of Social Services, on June 25__th__ at 1pm for a paternity test. Any concerns you have will be discussed at the specified time._

_Hoping you are well,  
MaryAnn Hopkins_

I flung the parchment into the fire and watched as it was slowly burned to ashes.

"He's not getting anywhere near Alex." He growled.

"He won't." Hermione said matter-of-factly. "As soon as the Ministry knows that he raped me, they'll deny him any visitation." I nodded distractedly and stood from my chair. I walked over to Alex's crib and gazed down at him. He was such a sweet baby. He didn't fuss much and he rarely cried.

We both jumped as the fireplace burst into flames and Dumbledore stepped out.

"Ah, Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy. I need to speak with the two of you and Narcissa, if that's alright." Hermione nodded and I picked up Alex. We headed down to the kitchen where mother spent most of her time.

"Albus, nice to see you." Mum said when we entered.

"I wish it were under different circumstances, Narcissa. Please sit." We sat down at the table and Dumbledore continued. "I have received information that Voldemort plans to attack the school a week into the next school term. I will hold off on telling everyone that the school will be closed until a week before the term is to start. I have already informed the rest of the Order and most students who will be of age." Dumbledore sighed and suddenly looked much older. "Mr. Potter and the Weasleys will be here in a few days time. Mr. Potter is hoping to start up the D.A. again to help people brush up on defensive skills and he will need your help Ms. Granger. If the date changes at all, I will let you know." He said good-bye and disappeared through the fire place.

Today was turning out to be a horrid day…

***************

I accompanied Hermione and Alex to the Ministry of Magic. We quickly found the Department of Social Services and talked to the receptionist.

"Name?" She asked politely.

"Hermione Granger."

"Ah yes. Go down this hall, 4th door on the left." We found the room she had pointed us to and knocked.

"Come in, Ms. Granger." We entered an office done in shades of blue. Behind the large oak desk sat a woman of about 40. She had curly black hair with flecks of grey and dark brown eyes. We sat down at the desk and she began. "My name is MaryAnn Hopkins. I'll be dealing with your case. The first thing we need to do is cast a paternity spell on Alexander to be sure that Mr. Simons is indeed his father."

"Mrs. Hopkins, Matthew has absolutely no right to see Alex." Hermione said immediately. The woman quirked an eyebrow.

"And why is that Ms. Granger." She asked skeptically. I clenched my fists in anger but stayed quiet.

"Last summer, just after I got home from Hogwarts, he forced himself on me. I know beyond a doubt that Alex is his. However, I also refuse to let him anywhere near my son." Mrs. Hopkins face softened immediately.

"If that is indeed the case, Ms. Granger, then any visitation will be denied. However, we do need to run a few tests to confirm it. Please, lay Alexander on the desk." Hermione did so and Mrs. Hopkins waved her wand over Alex's form. Slowly, a purple light appeared above Alex's stomach and formed the words _Hermione Marie Granger_ and _Matthew David Simons_. The words dissolved and she waved her wand once more. A bright red mist appeared around Alex and she scowled. "Mr. Simons will be informed immediately by the muggle authorities that any contact is denied. Also, we need to know if you want to press charges against him."

"Yes." Hermione said immediately.

"Very well. Thank you for your time, Ms. Granger. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"It's not a problem. I was happy to clear things up." Hermione said. I picked up Alex and we left the office and Floo'd back to Grimmauld place.

Potter and the Weasley's were there when we arrived.

"'Mione!" Ginny squealed, running to her.

"Hi Ginny." Hermione laughed.

"We missed you. Is this Alex?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Yup. This is him." Hermione took Alex from me and handed him to her friend. Ginny cooed over him for a while and Potter and Weasley came into the room.

"Hey, we heard about what happened with that guy. You okay?" Potter asked, sitting down next to Ginny.

"Yeah. I'm fine. We had to take Alex to the Ministry today to get a paternity test and talk about visitation."

"He didn't get any did he?" Potter asked, shocked.

"No. Once Mrs. Hopkins knew the full story she judged no contact and the muggle police are going to go after him to press charges."

"Good. The bastard deserves a lot more than that though, if you ask me." Potter said.

"I completely agree!" I said immediately.

***************

A week later, Hermione was informed that Matt had evaded arrest. I was sorely tempted to hunt him down myself and it seemed that Potter and Weasley greatly agreed with me. Hermione, of course, completely forbade it. She kept telling us that we needed to concentrate on preparing for the war. Twice a week, we met a group of other students in the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore set up his floo network to the students homes so that everyone could get to Hogwarts quickly.

Potter started with the basics, disarming, stunning, and body-binds. On Tuesdays, we would practice with defensive spells and on Thursdays we would do offensive spells and other useful spells to know. We knew how to do most of the spells but there were a few that no one had ever used. Potter taught us the spell that he had used on me around Christmas time. The spell I was having the most difficulty with was the Patronus Charm. It always came out shapeless.

"You have to think of something happy, Draco." Hermione told me for the 10th time.

"Yes, Hermione. I know." Taking a deep breath, I tried again. I pictured the day that Hermione had worn my charmed shirt to a Quidditch game. It was a great day, with some bad parts. I focused on the good parts. "_Expecto Patronum!_" I yelled. A silver mist erupted from my wand but quickly disappeared. I growled in frustration. I pictured the day Alex was born. "_Expecto Patronum!_" Again, a mist erupted. But this time it started to take form.

"It's a lion?!" Potter exclaimed.

"Looks like it…" I said, glaring at the form.

"Umm, ok. Hermione? Do you remember how to do it?"

"Of course. _Expecto Patronum!_" A form shot from her wand and danced through the air.

"I thought yours was an otter?" Potter asked, watching the dragon fly around the room.

"It's supposed to be." Hermione replied, looking confused.

"Patronuses can change shape sometimes." Lupin said from the corner. "They can change for various reasons. It's not common but it does happen on occasion."

"Ok…" Potter continued on with the lesson, helping anyone who was having trouble.

***************

September and Hermione's birthday were rapidly approaching. I finally got clearance to go into muggle London to buy her a present. I wandered around, glancing into a few shops here and there but nothing really caught my eye. 3 hours later, it started getting dark and I was about to give up. I headed back to the alleyway that I had apparated into.

As I was turning into the alley, someone grabbed me and I felt the familiar Apparating sensation. We arrived in a pitch black room and I was shoved roughly to the floor.

"_Accio wand_," said a voice lazily. "Hello Draco." I froze. I would know that voice anywhere.


	5. Who Am I?

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 5 – Who Am I?**

I turned to see my father sitting in a wooden chair, twirling my wand in his hand, his wand pointed lazily in my direction. To everyone, he would see calm and bored. But judging by the fact that if he held his wand any tighter it would snap, I could safely say that he was anything but calm.

"Lucius," I said, standing and brushing myself off. "To what do I owe the… Pleasure?" I walked over and leaned against the wall and waited for him to reveal his 'grand scheme' as he always did.

"Well," He began, smirk in place. "I'm displeased with your little… infatuation with the Mudblood Granger. Not to mention you didn't come home for the summer."

"That was my choice. After you cursed Blaise, I had no desire to come anywhere near you." I said cutting him off. "And it's not an infatuation. I love her. Something you would know nothing about, I realize."

"The curse wasn't meant for Zabini, as I'm sure you are aware. Feelings like love cloud your judgment, which is why I choose to do without it. As will you."

"You think you can stop me from loving Hermione? Good luck with that."

"Well, I have all the time in the world. You, however, do not." He sighed, theatrically. "The Dark Lord plans on attacking Hogwarts on the 30th of September. If you choose not to join us, you will die. It's as simple as that." He shrugged and stood up. "I'll give you some time to… think over your choices." He disappeared into the shadows and I heard a door open and slam shut. I sunk to the floor and put my head in my hands.

'_35 days?'_ I thought. _'How am I going to stall for 35 bloody days?'_

***************

The days passed. Or, at least, I assumed they did. I had no way of telling what hour it was, or even if it was day or night. I drifted in and out of sleep. I was rarely fed and when I was it was only a slice of bread. No water. My father didn't come back for a while, roughly 2 weeks.

"Have you been thinking about what I said?" He asked immediately.

"Nope," I replied, not looking at him.

"And why not?"

"It's simple really. I'd rather die than join you, betray my real friends, and betray my family."

"_Your_ family?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes. _My_ family. Hermione, our son, and mother."

"Narcissa?" He sounded surprised.

"Yep."

"Where is she?" He growled.

"Well, you know I'd love to tell you but I don't think I will." I said sarcastically.

"And what of this son? Have you really been involved with the Mudblood for that long?"

"Oh no. He's not really mine. But I do intend to be his father. He's really quite adorable. Mother loves him. We named him Alexander James… _Malfoy_." I stressed the last word. The phrase 'If looks could kill' came to mind as Lucius glared at me.

"It is now the 12th of September. You have 18 days to change your mind." He stood to leave.

"I'd be much easier to tell how many days I have left if I could actually tell if it was night or day." He waved his wand behind him and a small window appeared in a corner just below the ceiling. I heard the door open and shut and I was left alone once more.

***************

Lucius was getting frustrated, and oh how pleased I was about that. For a while anyways.

"_Crucio!_" Pain ripped through my body for the third time that day. "Join us!"

"Fuck you!" I gasped through the pain.

"Wrong answer. _Crucio!_" He lifted the curse and sat down on the wooden chair. "Anything to say?"

"Go to hell," I said weakly.

"Been there. Can't wait to go back." He said, smirking.

"I can't wait for you to go either." I murmured. I sat up and leaned against the wall.

"You're running out of time, Draco." Lucius said simply. "You have 8 days left."

"And you're wasting your time. I'm not changing my mind. I _will not_ join you or your pathetic excuse for a leader. Potter is a better leader than Voldemort." I saw my father flinch and inwardly smirked. "At least he doesn't hide the fact that he's only a half-blood."

"How dare you…"

"How dare I what? Speak the truth?"

"_Crucio!_" I gave up fighting it and let the pain sweep over me. The curse was released and Lucius swept out of the room.

'_I love you, Hermione and Alex.'_ I thought before passing out.

***************

Today was the day. The 30th of September. The day Voldemort and his groupies attack Hogwarts. I could hear the Death Eaters getting ready to leave in the rooms around me. I waited for Lucius to come in and try to convince me one last time.

I was so caught up trying to remember every detail of Hermione, Alex and mothers faces that I didn't realize that they had all left until hours later. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I tried to find a way out. I walked to the door which was, of course, locked.

I pulled my arm back and punched as hard as I could to try to put a hole in it. All I received was bloody knuckles. I kicked it with the flat of my foot and ended up almost spraining my ankle.

"Bloody hell!" I yelled. I gauged the distance from the far wall to the door.

'_That might work…'_ I strode to the other side of the room and crouched down. I took a deep breath and hurled myself at the door, slamming my shoulder into it. I heard something crack and was pretty sure it wasn't the door. I tried again and pain shot through the left side of my body. Growling, I headed for the other side of the room again.

Hours later, I collapsed on the floor and assessed the damage to my body. My knuckles had stopped bleeding long ago but it felt as if a few were broken. I could feel bruises forming on both of my shoulders from slamming in to the door multiple times on each side. I felt my sides gingerly and winced. Well, that's at least 3 broken ribs.

'_What else can I try?'_ I thought. I eyed the wooden chair in the corner and glanced at the window. Standing quickly, I picked up the chair and moved it to below the window then climbed on top of it. The top of my head just barely came to the bottom sill. Bending my arm, I slammed my elbow into the window only to wince as it bounced off the window. There's another bruise. I tried a few more times before another idea struck me.

I jumped off the chair and picked it up. Gripping a leg in one hand and the seat in the other, I wrenched the leg from the chair. Grinning, I balanced the chair against the wall and carefully climbed on top of it again. Holding the leg like a stake, I pulled my arm back and slammed it into the window over and over. The trick to blocking spells is that they can be worn down. I kept this in mind as I continuously pulled my arm back and flung it forwards.

Finally, I collapsed on the floor again. It was night now.

'_Who knows how long the battle will go on for… I just hope Potter wins…'_ I thought before drifting to sleep.

***************

I awoke on the 3rd day after the battle to voices. Scrambling to my feet, I rushed over to the door and pressed my ear to it.

"…was wicked awesome." Said a gruff voice. The words sounded odd coming from the voice.

"I know, right? It was so cool," replied a second, slightly German, male voice, "Spells flying everywhere. And then Potter's last spell." My heart sank. Potter had lost.

"Did you see the look on You-Know-Who's face as it went towards him? He's was like 'Oh… Shit'. And then, bam! He exploded! Why d'ya think he exploded?"

"Don't know. But he wasn't really human." Voldemort was dead?! Hot damn! These two obviously weren't Death Eaters.

"Hey!" I yelled, hoping there wasn't a sound-proof charm on the room. No answer came. I could hear shuffling in the next room. Ignoring the throbbing in my hand, I pounded my fist against the door. "HELP!" Still no reply. Bloody hell. I glanced around the room. Bingo! Crossing the room, I grabbed the chair and returned to the door. I grabbed the back of the chair and slammed it against the wall. It broke into pieces. Perfect.

I picked up a piece and experimentally tried to slide it through the crack under the door. It slid through and I pushed it as far as I could before picking up another piece and doing it again and again.

"Hey, Brian!" Called the gruff voice.

"Yep?"

"There's wood splinters in front of this door. Look's like the door's cracked too." Had I managed to crack it before?

"Is anyone in there?" Brian called. Frantically, I grabbed my last piece of wood and shoved it under the door.

"I'll take that as a yes. Stand back! We're gonna blast the door." I scrambled to my feet and ran to the corner. "_Bombarda Maxima!_" There was a loud explosion and I quickly covered my head.

"Hello?" Called Brian.

"In here." I said collapsing to the floor. Now that rescue had come I was flooded with exhaustion and pain. Two figures appeared in the doorway just as I passed out.

***************

When I came too, I was lying in a soft, warm bed. I slowly opened my eyes and glanced around at my surroundings. It looked like a log cabin. There was a small dresser at the foot of the bed, a full-length mirror next to it, and night stands on either side of the large bed. The bed was covered with a blue comforter decorated in white flowers.

"Good. You're finally awake!" Came a voice with a German accent. I glanced over to see a man standing in the doorway. He appeared to be about early thirties with sandy blond hair and bark blue eyes. He was dressed in blue jeans and a light blue button up shirt. "My name's Brian. How are you feeling?" It took me a second to find my voice.

"Sore," I said finally.

"Well, that's expected. Gene! The boy's awake!" He called over his shoulder. A larger man appeared behind him. He had thick dark brown hair and a large mustache. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black shirt. "What's your name, honey?" Brian asked. My eyebrows furrowed. Honey?

Wait. Name? What was my name? Shit.

"Umm… my name? I'm… I'm not sure."

"Oh dear. He has amnesia! Poor thing. Can you remember anything?" I racked my brain. Remember…

"I… I have a son." I nodded. That sounded right. "And a girlfriend!"

"Do you know who they are?" Gene asked.

"Ummm… No… But my son, he's… He's still a baby. He's not really mine… But he is!"

"Anything else?" Brian asked. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed.

"I'm a wizard. I think..."

"Wait a sec…" Gene said. "You look like that Malfoy fella!" Brian studied me.

"He does. Do you know Lucius Malfoy? He was a Death Eater." Malfoy… Malfoy…

"It sounds familiar…" I said slowly.

"Alrighty." Brian stood up and smoothed the blankets down. "Well, you just rest. We'll contact Albus in the morning." I nodded, frowning. Brian and Gene left, turning the lights out on their way out. There was something different about those two…

***************

I woke the next morning and climbed out of the bed. I left the room to find a short hallway. There was a small bathroom across from the bedroom. The hallway led to a quaint living room and a kitchen was off to the side of it. Gene was sleeping on what looked like a fold out couch.

"Good morning!" Brian said as I entered the kitchen. It was decorated in yellow and shades of white.

"Morning." I sat down at the table. "Would you happen to have any coffee?"

"Of course. There's a fresh pot just there." He pointed to the counter where, sure enough a full pot of coffee sat.

"Thanks." He handed me a pink and white coffee cup and I quickly filled it and added sugar before sitting back down. Brian sat down across from me with the Daily Prophet a few moments later.

Gene walked in a few minutes later.

"Morning." He said gruffly, stifling a yawn. I watched in slight surprise as he walked over and kissed Brian on the cheek. Brian saw the shocked look on my face and laughed.

"We're gay." He said offhandedly.

"Oh… Umm… Ok." I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. I had never been around gay people before, at least… I couldn't remember being. I supposed it was ok though. Love is love. "May I see that?" I asked gesturing to the paper.

"Of course." Brian handed me the paper and I started skimming through it. On the second page they had a last of people that were lost during the battle. A few sounded familiar. _Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shackelbolt, Severus Snape, Nymphadora Tonks, Ronald Weasley… _Weasley… Weasley_…_ Why did that name sound familiar? "I contacted Albus Dumbledore. He'll be here around noon." I nodded absentmindedly and set the paper down. "Would like to help me do some gardening today?" Brian asked. "Or maybe help Gene fix our shed?"

"Gardening sounds good. I think I used to help my mother garden." I growled this was bloody frusterating.

"Calm down. We'll know soon enough who you are. Come on. Let's find you some gloves." I spent the rest of the morning planting flowers of all different colors in front of the small log cabin with Brian.

"So how long have you known Gene?" I asked.

"Since my first year at Hogwarts. He was in his third year."

"Hogwarts?" I asked, confused.

"Oh dear. You don't even remember Hogwarts?"

"It's… It's a school right? A school for magic?"

"Yes. There's four houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I myself was in Ravenclaw. Gene was a Hufflepuff."

"I think… I might have gone there… Or I still do… I'm not sure but it sounds right."

"Well, don't fret over it. Albus will sort it all out." I nodded and finished planting the lily he had given me. He handed me a pot with purple flowers in it. I recognized the scent and got flashes of curly brown hair, soft brown eyes and… lions? "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, just getting flashes… of memory I guess. Who's Albus?"

"Albus Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of all time. He's current the Headmaster of Hogwarts. And that's not surprising. Scents trigger the most memories in amnesiac patients. What do you remember?"

"The smell of lavender… Brown curly hair… Soft brown eyes and… Lions."

"Lions? Well, that's the mascot of sorts for Gryffindor. Do you think you were in Gryffindor, maybe?" I quickly shook my head.

"I wasn't a Gryffindork." Where did that come from?

"Slytherin maybe…" Brian said looking at me strangely. I nodded. That sounded right. Slytherin.

"Brian?" Gene stuck his head out the front door. "Albus is here." We got up and brushed our jeans off then went into the house.

Sitting on the couch was an old man. He had silver hair and beard, both reached his waist. His blue eyes twinkled merrily behind half-moon glasses. He was dressed in dark blue robes with a matching cap.

"Hello Draco Malfoy." He said quietly.

"Umm… Hi?" I sat down in an armchair next to the fire. Draco Malfoy? It sounded strange but… right somehow. Brian and Gene disappeared out the front door and I was left alone with the strange old man, who must be Albus Dumbledore.

"Hermione and Narcissa have been most worried about you. Alex, too."

"Umm… And who are they?" His eyebrows rose.

"How much do you remember, Draco?" I thought for a second.

"Not much. I'm pretty sure I'm a wizard. I think I either went to Hogwarts or still do. Brian thinks I was in Slytherin, whatever that is." I shrugged.

"Well, let me tell you about yourself. Your name is Draco Xavier Malfoy. Your father was Lucius Damien Malfoy, who is now deceased. Your mother, who is very much alive, is Narcissa Dawn Malfoy, though she plans on changing her surname back to Black. You are currently involved with Hermione Marie Granger, who has a son named Alexander James Malfoy. You are in fact a wizard and yes, you went to Hogwarts and were in Slytherin. You still need to finish your 7th year." I thought hard on this for a second.

"That sounds right… Does umm... Does this Hermione girl, does she have curly brown hair and brown eyes?" Albus nodded. "Was she in Gryffindor?"

"Yes. She is. Do you remember anything about her?"

"She smells like lavender flowers." I said without thinking. Albus chuckled.

"That she does." He paused. "The way I see it, you have a few choices. You may come back to Hogwarts and hopefully your memories will return on their own. Or you can go to St. Mungo's and see if they can help your memories comeback." I vaguely remembered that St. Mungo's was a hospital. "Or you can do both. You may come back to Hogwarts and visit St. Mungo's on the weekends for treatments."

"I want my memories back as soon as possible." I told him quickly.

"Well, we're not sure which will work better for you. For some, simply being in a familiar place will flood them with memories. For others, they need spells and potions to help unblock them."

"I'll go to Hogwarts. If that doesn't help then I'll go to St. Mungo's." Albus nodded.

"Before I take you back to Hogwarts, I need to find out how much you know about magic." He pulled out a wooden stick. A wand, I thought suddenly. "What is this?"

"It's… my wand." I realized with a shock that it was _mine._

"Very good." He handed it to me and led me out to a large yard behind the log cabin. "I'm going to ask you to cast a few spells and charms. If you can correctly do most of them, I will bring you back to Hagwarts." I nodded. "Disarming spell?"

"_Expelliarmus!_" I said, pointing the wand at Albus. His wand flew out of his robes and to me.

"Very good. Stunning spell?"

"_Stupefy!_" The red light simply bounced off of him. "Why didn't it work?"

"I have my tricks. Body bind?"

"_Petrificus Totalus_!"

"Light?"

"_Lumos!_"

"Good. Here's a bit harder one. What would you use with a Dementor?" The sight of a flowing figure robed in black flashed though my mind and I shivered.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" Nothing happened. "What's wrong?"

"Simple. You have no memories, therefore, no happy memories you can think of. Put the wand down. What are the unforgivables?"

"Forbidden curses." Images flashed through my mind once more. Torture and pain. Compulssion and complete control. Death. "The Cruciatus curse, the Imperius curse and the killing curse." The test went on and on. It was on various subjects and every once in a while I would get flashes of memories but nothing concrete.

Finally, Albus said, "So, Draco. How are we getting to Hogwarts?"

"We could… Floo. Or apparate."

"Very good. You best say your goodbye's to Brian and Gene and thank them for putting up with you for the last two weeks."

"Two weeks?! I thought I had only been out for a day at the most."

"No. It was two weeks." I trudged around the house to find them both gardening.

"Thank you for taking care of me. Albus is taking me back to Hogwarts." Brian stood up and dusted his hands off.

"It wasn't a problem. You just make sure you keep in touch!" He said firmly.

"I will." I went back to the house where Albus was waiting for me.

"Do you remember how to use Floo Powder?" He asked.

"Not really."

"State your destination and toss it down."

"What's my destination?"

"Hogsmeade." I got a flash of a curvy, cobblestone road lined with shops.

"Ok. Got it." I stepped into the fireplace and grabbed a handful of the silvery powder. "Hogsmeade!" I threw the powder down and jumped when green flames erupted around me. I began spinning. Just when I thought I'd chuck everything in my stomach, I slid out into a small pub. The Hog's Head, I realized. Albus came sliding through a few moments later, landing much more gracefully than I had. Without a word, he led me out of the pub and onto a wet, narrow road. He led me down it in silence until the shops were no longer on either side of the road. I looked ahead of me and stopped in my tracks. We were headed to a large iron fence. Beyond that, I could see a huge grey castle. The sun lit up the emerald green, grass-covered grounds.

"Welcome back, Draco, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


	6. Flashes

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 6 – Flashes**

I walked through the school with Dumbledore with a slight wonder and sense of familiarity. We attracted a few stares and whispers on our trip to his office.

"Why was everyone starring at us in the halls?" I asked when we had reached his office.

"Everyone knows you've been missing." He replied simply.

"How long was I gone for?" I sat down in the chair in front of his desk and glanced around.

"Since August 15th. I think you'll find a few surprises waiting for you." He had an odd twinkle in his eyes as he said this. "I'm sure you're arrival will have reached Ms. Granger by now and she should be barging through that door any moment. Before she arrives, I have a few topics to discuss with you." I turned my full attention to him and waited for him to begin. "First, we need to schedule a time for you to take your 6th year finals. You will, of course, have time to brush up on your studying." I nodded. "And second, I need to ask a favor of you. I know you don't remember much but we are short a Head Boy. The decision to choose you has been obvious for quite a while. I will understand if you choose to decline, given your mental state. However, I ask you to consider it before giving me your…" He paused as the door slammed open. I felt something, or rather someone, engulf me and I was suddenly surrounded in a mass of brown curls and the scent of lavender and vanilla.

"Draco! I've been so worried!" Came a muffled voice.

"Ms. Granger, always a pleasure to see you. Perhaps you should release Mr. Malfoy, however, he looks a bit uncomfortable and there are a few things I need to explain to you."

"Of course, Professor. My apologies." The mass of hair disappeared and I looked over to see a young woman sitting in the chair next to mine. She had a mass of curly brown hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. She was petite, over a head shorter than me. She was dressed in the uniform I had seen around the school. She was quite attractive. My heart jumped when she smiled at me. I cocked my head to the side and studied her curiously. Dumbledore cleared his throat and we both looked back at him to find him smiling.

"Ms. Granger, we found Mr. Malfoy in the cottage that the Death Eaters were using as their hide out. I sent two order members to search it just after the battle. When they found him, he promptly passed out from exhaustion and pain." I frowned. I didn't remember this. "They took him to their cabin in Wiltshire and when he awoke two weeks later, he couldn't remember anything." The girl quickly glanced at me with a worried expression. "It's unfortunate to say that his memories are vague. He has his memories of magic and Hogwarts and receives flashes of memories when met with certain events or scents. Until I came to him, he couldn't even remember who he was."

"Does… does that mean that he… that Draco… Doesn't remember Alex? Me?"

"He doesn't even remember his mother." Dumbledore said softly. I frowned. They were talking about me like I wasn't even here. I glanced at the girl again. Hermione Granger, I realized. I stared at her hard, willing myself to remember her. But the harder I tried to remember, the further it slipped away. She was important to me, that much was obvious. Giving up, I sighed.

"I'm sorry." I shrugged, not sure what I was apologizing for. "You're Hermione Granger, right?" She looked at me sadly and nodded. She turned away quickly but not fast enough for me to miss the tears that were rising in her eyes. I felt a lump in my throat and forced it down. _Malfoy's don't cry._ Where did that come from? "You're… important to me…" I forced out. She looked back at me. "I can tell. I just can't place you. Who are… I mean, are you important to me?"

"I hope so." She said quietly.

"Why?"

"We had a… relationship." I nodded.

"Alex? Alexander? Dumbledore told me he's your son?"

"Yes," Her voice cracked and she looked down at her hands that were twisting in her lap. I had an urge to pull her into my lap, wrap my arms around her and tell her everything would be ok. Before I could, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Ms. Granger is our Head Girl. I was thinking that maybe if you are surrounded by people that are dear to you, that your memories will return." Hermione's head shot up.

"So there is a possibility that they will return?" She asked, sounding hopefully.

"Possibly. He has decided to stay at Hogwarts for a while and see if they return on their own. If they don't, he will start going to St. Mungo's for treatments on the weekends." Hermione nodded and looked back down at her twisting hands.

"I have to get back to Alex… Harry is watching him." She said quietly.

"Why the bloody hell is Potter watching my kid?" I asked suddenly. I had no idea where it came from, it just slipped out. Hermione stared at me in shock for a second before turning around and running out of the room. I stood to run after her.

"Give it time, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said. "In the next little while, you will probably have urges and say things that you don't understand. I suggest you follow them whenever possible. And ask questions often." I nodded and forced myself to sit back down.

"I want to do it." I said immediately. "I want to be Head Boy."

***************

I sat in the Head's Common Room later that night. Hermione was nowhere to be found. I sat gazing into the fire, desperately trying to remember anything. I finally gave up and just laid back on the couch. Just as I was drifting to sleep, a conversation came to me.

"_Yes baby, I love you too. Now tell mommy to go change her shirt."_

"_I'm not changing it. I love you, Draco. And I don't care who knows it. I'm tired of hiding my feelings for you. I'm a big girl. I can defend myself."_

The voices were vauge and flat. I could only assume it was Hermione saying the last part. Keeping my eyes closed, I tried to concentrate and get an image or scene or… anything. When nothing came I sat up and sighed.

"Are you ok?" I turned around to see Hermione coming through the portrait hole carrying a blue bundle against her shoulder, a black bag slung over her other shoulder.

"I'm fine. Just trying to grasp some memories is all." I shrugged. She sat down in the arm chair diagonal from me. The blue bundle whimpered and I realized it must be her son. She smiled at him and reached into the black back to pull out a bottle. Cradling him in her arms, one arm rested against the arm of the chair, she gave him the bottle. "How old is he?" I asked. She glanced up and looked at me strangely.

"He's 6 months." I nodded and continued to watch her with the child. She gently rocked side to side while he was eating.

"Can I… I mean, would you mind if I try?" Her head shot up and she stared at me.

"Ummm… No. I suppose that would be ok…" She carefully got up and came to sit by me. "Hold your arms out, like mine are." I copied her arms and she gently placed the squirming baby in my arms. "It's easier if you rest your arm against the side of the couch, so you have a free hand to catch the bottle. He holds it on his own but he drops it every once in a while."

"I can hold him with one arm." I held out my right hand for the bottle. She smiled gently and handed it to me. I watched in fascination as Alex's mouth latched onto the plastic nipple and started eating again. His hands came up to grasp the bottle. "He's so tiny…" I said in awe. The words and feelings triggered a similar memory.

"_He's so tiny…"_

"_He was just born, Draco." _

"_I know but he's just so… small."_

"_He's tiny and perfect." Hermione cooed at the baby._

I looked up at her in shock.

"What?" She asked puzzled.

"I was… I was there. When you gave birth to him. Why? Am I his father?"

"You remember that?" She asked slowly.

"No. I just… know." I shrugged. She sighed.

"Yes. You were there. And no you're not technically his father."

"What do you mean technically?" I asked.

"You… Ummm, well… You said that you wanted to be." She shrugged. The voices from earlier came back to me.

"Did I tell you to change your shirt?"

"Huh?"

"Earlier. I had a… memory I guess. But it was just voices."

"What did they say?"

"I said, 'Yes baby, I love you too. Now tell mommy to go change her shirt.' The other voice said something along the lines of, 'I'm not changing it. I love you Draco.' Or something. I don't quite remember the exact words."

"Yes." She said quietly. "That was me. We had had a row and my way of apologizing was charming the button up shirt that you had left in the Room of Requirement to say 'I love my slytherin', and 'Go Draco' in green lettering. You didn't like it much." I frowned.

"Why not? I'd think I would pleased by that."

"You were worried about your father's reaction to it. Which, as it turns out, you're thoughts were correct. You're best friend Blaise ended up in the hospital wing because he jumped in front of a spell meant for me and Alex." She said. Her next words were so soft that I almost missed them. "He saved our lives." I gazed down at Alex, wondering why on earth anyone would want to hurt a beautiful woman and a helpless baby.

"Why would my father do something like that?" I asked, confused.

"He was a Pureblood and a Death Eater. He believed that Purebloods shouldn't associate with people like me."

"People like you?"

"Muggleborns." She said, shrugging.

"Well… That sounds like a load of horse shit." I said confidently. She smiled slightly and my heart filled with joy at the sight of it. "So… May I ask you something?"

"Go for it." She turned to face me and laid her head on the back of the couch.

"What were we? I mean, I know you said we had a relationship… But what happened? Were we still together when I disappeared? Do you know how I disappeared?"

"Yes, we were together when you disappeared. And all I know is that Dumbledore gave you clearance to go into muggle London."

"Clearance?"

"We were in a safe house for a while because of what happened with your father. We had to get clearance to leave." I nodded. We sat in silence for a while but when I turned to talk to her once more she was asleep. Carefully, I stood up with Alex and laid him on the love seat then barricaded the side with pillows and a blocking charm for good measure. I went back over to Hermione and picked her up without waking her and laid her down on the couch. I kneeled next to the couch and brushed a curl from her face. She really was beautiful.

***************

I woke the next morning to the sound of beeping. Glancing around, I noticed Hermione's wand on the back of the couch. As soon as I touched it, the sound stopped. Sometime during the night I had ended up on the couch with Hermione. One arm was beneath her head as a pillow and the other was wrapped around her waist. I turned and found Alex laying on the love seat squirming. I turned back to see Hermione's eyes open. She was watching me curiously.

"Umm… Morning." I said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Morning. Where's Alex?" She asked, sleepily. She seemed to think she was dreaming.

"He's on the love seat." She sat up and I felt a pang of what could only be called need.

"How did we end up on the couch?" She asked, climbing over me and onto the floor.

"You fell asleep and looked horribly uncomfortable so I laid you down. I'm not sure how I ended up here though." She nodded, picked up Alex and went to her room without another word.

***************

"Draco!" I turned in the hall to see a guy striding towards me. He was my height, tanned with tousled brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"Ummm…" I said slowly.

"Don't worry. I know about the whole memory thing. Granger told me. Blaise Zabini, your best friend." I nodded.

"Hermione told me about you. You jumped in front of a curse that was meant to kill her and Alex."

"Yeah… Well…" He turned slightly pink, embarrassed. We walked in silence to Potions that was taught by Horace Slughorn.

***************

My days were passed spending time with Blaise, Hermione and Alex. I didn't get anymore flashes of memory and was starting to get depressed. Dumbledore suggested I start going to St. Mungo's for treatments, which I readily agreed to.

I was getting more and more attached to Alex. He was now 7 months old. He could sit up by himself and was starting to crawl and pull himself up standing using the furniture. His smiles lit up my day and his laugh was just bloody adorable. Hermione was having a more profound effect on me as well. I found myself touching her for no reason. I would touch her arm when we were talking or shift on the couch so our legs were touching. I couldn't tell you were these feelings were coming from but I knew they were real.

The Friday before I was to start treatments at St. Mungo's a woman appeared. She was introduced to me as Narcissa Malfoy, now Narcissa Black, my mother. She arrived at the Heads Common Room just after dinner.

"Hello Draco." She said softly. I nodded to her, not sure what I should say. She glanced at Hermione then did a double take and stared at her. "Ms. Granger, can I speak with you for a moment?" It wasn't a question that required an answer and she didn't have much choice. She stood up and handed Alex to me before leaving the room. I played with the little boy for a while until they came back. Hermione grabbed Alex and stormed to her room.

"What did you say to her?" I asked glaring at the woman.

"Nothing she didn't already know. Come one. I'm taking you to St. Mungo's." I followed her out of the room. We walked in silence to the school gates. Once outside, she apparated me to a busy waiting room. She lead me down a hall and into a small office. "I'm working here now. As a Healer."

"That's nice." I said. I wasn't happy with this woman. She had upset Hermione.

"Draco," She sighed. "If you knew what that girl was hiding from you, you'd be just as mad with her as I am."

"Why don't you tell me then so I can share in your anger?" I asked sarcastically. My mother considered me for a moment before blurting out her words.

"She's pregnant."


	7. I Know You

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

_I made a few errors in this chapter the first time I posted it. I accidentally put Ron in this chapter when he was supposed to have died in the war. This is the correct chapter. I apologize if I confused anyone!  
_

**Chapter 7 – I Know You**

I sat in stunned silence after my mother's outburst.

"Preg… Pregnant?" I stuttered. My mother nodded. "Is it… mine?" I suddenly felt extremely upset that maybe it was someone else's, though I wasn't sure why.

"Yes. The baby is yours."

"Why hasn't she told me?"

"Exactly what I wanted to know! The girl started ranting about not putting any more pressure on you and that it's her decision." I frowned.

"She had to have a good reason for it."

"Has your memory loss made you stupid as well?" My mother asked, quirking an eyebrow. I glared at her but before I could retort the door opened and another Healer came in.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy. I understand you have a case of amnesia." I nodded, still glaring at my mother. "Well, hopefully we can get you back to… back to rights." He was looking between my mother and I, looking slightly surprised. He quickly gripped my arm and led me out of the room, probably to avoid anything physical. As if I would ever hit a woman…

The appointments consisted of multiple potions and relaxing techniques along with some spells and something called flash cards. They held up cards with pictures of people and places or objects and ask me what, who or where it was and then ask if I could tell them a personal experience with it. How the bloody hell this would help I will never understand. They explained that when you go through something physically and mentally painful that it blocks off memories. They were sure that that's what happened.

I spent the weekend at St. Mungo's and returned to Hogwarts on Sunday night, set in my decision to confront Hermione about the baby. When I reached the Common Room she was laying on the couch with Alex, reading him a story. I sat in the armchair until she was done and Alex was asleep.

"We need to talk." I said finally. She sighed.

"Your mother told you?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Let me put Alex to bed and I'll be back down." She gently picked the boy up and headed for her room. She returned a few moments later, dressed in blue plaid pajama bottoms and a black tank top. In the outfit, I could tell her stomach was slightly rounded.

"How far along are you?" I asked immediately.

"Four months." She whispered.

"How long have you known?"

"I found out two weeks after you disappeared."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You can barely remember who you are!" She shouted suddenly. "I didn't want to put pressure on you to be there for me when you need to be focusing on getting your memory back."

"Hermione, this is my child we're talking about…" I growled. "You didn't think I'd have a right to know?"

"Of course I did!" She was now standing, screaming at me. "I wanted to tell you the second I saw you! But when Dumbledore said you had lost your memory I knew you had to focus on yourself! On getting better!"

"I don't want to get better without you, Alex and this baby!" I yelled back. I quickly rose to my feet and strode towards her. I placed my hands on either side of her face and pulled her lips up to mine. Memories exploded in my head.

_Me at 11 years old, meeting her for the first time. Sneering calling her a stupid muggleborn._

_Tormenting her through first year._

_Calling her a Mudblood on the way to Quidditch practice in second year._

_Seeing her Petrified form in the hospital wing. The first time I ever worried about her. _

_Ignoring my feelings._

_Tormenting her through second year._

_Her punching me in third year._

_Tormenting her through third year._

_Seeing her at the Quidditch World Cup. The terrified look on her face as they ran from Death Eaters. It was the first time I had ever wanted to take away someone else's pain, besides my mothers. _

_Ignoring my feelings._

_Seeing her at the Yule Ball in fourth year. She was so beautiful. I was insanely jealous of Viktor Krum. _

_Ignoring my feelings._

_Her fierce protectiveness of Potter during the Triwizard Tournament. The first time I was ever jealous of Potter. Because he could have her. I couldn't._

_Ignoring my feelings. _

_Tormenting her through fourth year._

_Watching her study for her O.W.L.s in the library during fifth year. Noticing the way she bit her bottom lip when she was in deep thought. It was cute. _

_Ignoring my feelings. _

_Tormenting her through fifth year._

_My mission during sixth year. She saved me. She was there for me. I was there for her._

_Admitting my feelings._

_Falling in love with Hermione Granger. Making love to her for the first time._

_Writing to my father. Trying to protect her. Fighting with her about it._

_My heart stopping as she screamed as Blaise was hit with the curse meant for her and Alex._

_Going to Grimmauld Place with her. Being there with her while Alex was born. Alexander James Malfoy._

_And finally, going to get her a birthday present and being captured by my father. Hearing his threats to kill Hermione and our son. He was ours. Not just hers anymore._

I gasped as I was brought back to the present. I stumbled over my feet and fell to the ground.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, tentatively. She kneeled in front of me. "Are you ok?" I looked up at her. My hand rose and rested on her cheek.

"Make love to me Hermione." I croaked. "It's been far too long since I've felt you."

"Do you… Do you remember everything?" I shook my head.

"Not everything. But I remember you. I was so horrible to you. I don't deserve you. I should…" She placed a finger on my lips and smiled.

"Don't. I forgave you long ago for everything that happened." I nodded and lay back as she crawled on top of me. She leaned down and kissed me. Gently at first and then hard, as if convincing herself I really was there. Her fingers found the bottom of my jumper and she pulled it off along with the white t-shirt I was wearing beneath it. Her hands traced the toned plains of my stomach. I gripped her hips with my knees and rolled her underneath me.

Brushing her hair back, I leaned down and kissed her. My hands traveled under her tank top to caress her rounded stomach. Impatiently, I sat up and pulled her shirt off before carefully resting on top of her. The feeling of her skin beneath mine made me go crazy. I stood up, scooped her into my arms and headed for her room.

She cast a silencing charm around her bed so we wouldn't wake Alex. I pulled the blankets back and placed her in the bed before climbing in after her. She hastily pulled her pajama pants and knickers off and tossed them on the floor. She turned to me and grabbed my belt, pulling me closer. She fumbled with my belt for a moment before getting it undone and pushing them down my hips with my boxers. I kicked them off and carefully rolled on top of her.

Placing my hand on her cheek, I whispered, "I love you Hermione," and entered her in one swift motion. We both moaned at the feelings suddenly surrounding us. It had been quite a while since we'd been like this. I rested my forehead on hers and raised myself up on my elbows enough to move. I pulled almost completely out before burying myself inside her again. It had been so long for the both of us that it wasn't long before she was crying out my name. I quickly followed.

Without pulling out, I gathered her up in my arms and turned to lie on my back. She rested her head on my shoulder and I bent down and kissed her on the top of the head.

"I meant what I said," I whispered to her. "I love you. And I don't have a reason to get better without you, Alex and this baby. You should have told me."

"I know. I love you too. And I'm sorry."

***************

We sat in the Common Room the next night after classes. Three others had joined us; Blaise, another boy our age, and a girl that was a year behind us. One of the boys, Harry Potter I was told, had jet black hair and bright green eyes, covered by round glasses. He had an odd scar on his forehead that was shaped like a lightning bolt. The girl was Ginny Weasely, with flaming red hair, blue eyes, and tons of freckles. Harry and Blaise were deep in conversation about Quidditch, Ginny and Hermione were talking about baby stuff, and I was working on a potions essay.

I felt a tiny hand on my side and looked down to see Alex next to me. I picked him up and placed him in my lap. He looked at me curiously for a few moments before reaching up and touching my cheek. Suddenly, he grabbed a lock of my hair and pulled… hard. Hermione laughed.

"OW! Alex, no. That hurts daddy." He looked at me strangely and pulled my hair again. I flinched. "OW!" To prove my point, I gently pulled a lock of his hair. He looked at me shocked before crying. Hermione sighed and got up. She pulled him out of my lap and yanked on my hair again. "OOOWW!"

"It won't teach him anything by pulling his hair back." She said, quickly.

"It'll teach him that it hurts." I pointed out. She rolled her eyes and sat back down with Alex in her lap.

Harry, Blaise and Ginny left soon after and Alex fell asleep in Hermione's lap. I laid down on the couch and Hermione laid Alex down on the loveseat before climbing up beside me and turned to face me.

"What do you want? A boy or a girl?" She asked.

"A girl," I said immediately. "Though if you tell anyone I said that, I'll blatantly deny it."

"Why?" She laughed.

"Because. I'm a Malfoy. We're suppose to have boys." Hermione rolled her eyes at me.

"What about names? Have you been thinking about any?"

"I kind of like the name Celeste or Rose."

"They're ok, I suppose."

"Well, what do you like then?"

"Anna?"

"Too common."

"Oh, and Rose isn't?"

"Yeah, it is but Celeste isn't."

"True. What about boy names?"

"Dimitri," I said instantly.

"Dimitri?"

"Yes. Dimitri Adrian Malfoy." Hermione laughed.

"You know his initials would be D.A.M. right?"

"So?" I shrugged.

"Ok…"

***************

December was there before we knew it. Alex was now 8 months old, Hermione was 5 months pregnant. She was considerably bigger than she was at 5 months with Alex.

I received a letter a week before Christmas from my mother asking if Hermione and I would come to the Manor for vacation.

"Hermione?" I asked that night.

"Hmm?" She said, not looking up from her homework. Alex was playing on the floor with some toys

"Mother wants to know if we would like to go to the Manor for Christmas." She looked up, shocked.

"I was kind of planning to go home for Christmas. They haven't even seen Alex yet." She said softly.

"Maybe… Maybe they could come to the Manor with us? Potter and the Weasley's too." I shrugged.

"I'm not sure any of them would be comfortable there… I'm not even sure I would."

"My mother has redecorated considerably. It's not the same as when my father lived there."

"I'll think about it, ok?" I nodded.

***************

The next night Hermione agreed to talk to her parents, Potter and Ginny about going to the Manor. Her parents agreed but Potter was harder to convince.

"It's a lot different than when Lucius was there." Hermione told them. "Narcissa greatly redecorated."

"It was still filled with dark objects, Hermione." Potter argued.

"Not anymore." I spoke up. "My mother assured me that she's removed every last one."

"I, for one, think it might be fun." Ginny said. I always knew there was a reason I liked Weaselette. "Have you seen how huge that house is?" I nodded.

"The grounds are beautiful, as well. We have a 50 foot long, 3-9 foot deep pool, hot tubs, and horses." I said, though I couldn't remember exactly what they looked like.

"That does sound kinda cool." Potter said grudgingly. He sighed. "I guess we could go."

***************

The train ride to King's Cross was relatively boring. Potter and Ginny were playing exploding snap and chess, chatting about what the first thing they were going to do at the Manor was. Hermione and Alex slept most of the time.

Mother was there when we arrived, as were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the twins, Fred and George. All four had flaming red hair and blue eyes. Mr. Weasley had glasses covering his eyes. Mrs. Weasley was short and kind of chunky, though I suppose it was expected after seven kids. Fred and George were identical and I immediately gave up on trying telling them apart.

We met Hermione's parents outside platform 9 ¾.

"Mum! Dad!" She yelled. She quickly handed Alex to me and ran towards them, surprisingly fast for being 5 months pregnant. I followed at a more reasonable pace. When I reached them, she introduced us. "Mum, Dad, this is Draco and Alex. Draco, this is my mother Amelia, and my father, John."

"It's very nice to meet you both." I said politely, extending my hand to them. Mr. Granger took my hand and shook it then Mrs. Granger did the same.

"It's nice to meet you, as well." Her father said. Hermione took Alex out of my arms and handed him to her mother. She was a pretty woman that looked quite a bit like Hermione, though her hair was straight brown rather than the curly mop of hair that Hermione had. Mr. Granger had curly, dark blonde hair and blue eyes.

"He's adorable!" Mrs. Granger cooed. She shifted him to her hip and addressed Hermione. "How far a long are you this time, Hermione?" She said it with a slightly disapproving tone and I clenched my hands in anger.

"5 months." Hermione said quickly.

"You know we're not happy about it." Mr. Ganger said. Hermione nodded. "We would have liked you to wait a while before having children, but there isn't much we can do about it now. Never the less, they will be our grandkids and they will be well loved." He smiled.

"So," My mother said, coming up behind us. "Are we ready to go? I'm Narcissa, by the way, Draco's mother." She elegantly shook hands with the Grangers and we took all our baggage out to the limo in front of King's Cross. The ride was uneventful. Hermione caught up with her parents while Alex slept in something called a car seat that Mr. and Mrs. Granger bought him.

When we all climbed out of the limo at the Manor, everyone stopped and stared at the sight of the massive house standing in front of us, including me. Mother waved her wand over the luggage and it disappeared, presumably to the bedrooms. The stone house before us was shaped like a square horse shoe. A large wrought iron fence surrounded the property. Mother led us in through the front door and we arrived in a large entrance hall. Black and white tile covered the floor, the walls looked like marble, and windows framed the door. Directly in front of us was a huge staircase. There were two intricately designed double-doors, one to the left and one to the right.

"A sitting room is to the right and the dining and ball room is to the left." My mother explained. "Servants quarters are off of the sitting room."

"You own servants?" Mrs. Granger asked, wrinkling her nose in an identical expression to Hermione's.

"A few," My mother replied. "They enjoy being here and are treated very well. They're paid a sizeable amount and they also receive vacation and sick time." Both Granger girls seemed okay with this information. She led us upstairs and continued with the tour. "This floor is all rooms for family and guests. There are 20 rooms in all. The room above us contains a library and a few studies and the one above that is just used for storage." Hermione's eyes lit up at the word library and I could tell that she couldn't wait to go explore it. "Breakfast is served at 9am, lunch at 1pm, and dinner at 6pm. If you would like a snack at anytime just call for Tibsy anywhere in the Manor and she will fetch you something to eat."

"You have house elves too?" Hermione asked, glaring at me.

"Yes, Ms. Granger. But you will be happy to know that they as well are paid and have their own rooms, vacation and sick time." Hermione smiled at this. Mother showed them to their rooms and told them that they were free to do as they pleased. Potter, Ginny and the twins headed for the pool. Hermione, of course, dragged me to the library while her parents watched Alex. The library took up an entire half of the floor.

"So," I said while she was looking through the thousands of books. "Ever had sex in a library?" I asked, smirking.


	8. Christmas at Malfoy Manor

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book. _

_I made a few errors in the previous chapter, I included Ron in the chapter when he was supposed to die in the war. I know, I know, I love Ron too. But with Hermione with Draco, I felt bad for him being alone, so I decided to negate him from the story. He won't be in this chapter._

**Chapter 8 – Christmas at Malfoy Manor**

She glanced at me and smiled.

"You know I haven't." She turned back to the books and I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her swollen stomach.

"Would you like to?" I whispered in her ear. She turned to face me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She kissed my cheek down my jaw and down my neck. I shivered. She pulled back and smirked at me.

"Not really." She said. Abruptly, she turned back to the shelves.

"Tease," I turned her back around and picked her up to set her on the ledge of the shelf. "You can't do that."

"Do what?" She asked innocently.

"Turn me on and then say no." I kissed her, slowly at first. The kiss quickly became more and more passionate. I pushed her legs open to stand between them. Her hands found my belt.

We both froze when we heard a _crack_ behind us. I turned my head to see a small house elf standing there, covering it's eyes.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Miss Malfoy asked Tibsy to find Mister Draco. Miss Malfoy would like to see Mister Draco in her study." The elf peeked out from behind her eyes and decided it was okay to look. I sighed.

"Tell her I'll be there in a few moments." Tibsy nodded and disappeared with another _crack_. "Have fun looking through the books." I kissed Hermione good bye and headed out of the library. I went to the other side of the floor and pushed open a door. "Yes, mother?"

"Sit down, Draco." She said gently. I crossed the room and sat in the chair in front of her desk. "How are you dealing with the approaching child?" She asked immediately. I shrugged.

"Fine, I suppose."

"Do you know what it is yet?"

"Hermione wants it to be a surprise."

"Ah. Have you thought of any names yet?"

"A few." Mother nodded. "Just cut to it. What did you want to talk to me about?" She sighed.

"You still don't have all of your memories." I shook my head. "I found a spell. It will determine why you have your memory loss."

"I thought you guys said it was because I had been through a traumatic event."

"It probably is. This is just to be sure. If that's the case, then I have another spell that will erase the memory from your mind and restore your old memories. Do you want to try it?" I considered it for a moment before nodding. I was tired of not knowing who I was. She stood and went to stand behind me. She placed her wand on my temple and murmured a long string of words. I saw a faint bluish glow at the edges of my vision. "What color do you see?" She asked.

"Blue. Kind of light blue." I shrugged.

"Traumatic event. This next spell will hurt a bit. You will probably pass out afterwards." She said. She murmured another long string of words in Latin and a second later pain shot through my head. I squeezed my eyes shut as memory upon memory flashed before my eyes.

_5 years old, hearing mum and father yelling down the hall._

_Watching as father hit mother over and over for 'cuddling' me to much_

_Hearing screams coming from the dungeons as father tortured muggles and Muggleborns_

_Receiving bruise on top of bruise for playing with the muggle children in town_

_Mother getting pregnant when I was 7_

_Watching as father pushed her down the stairs for conceiving a girl, running down the stairs after her to make sure she was ok, seeing the blood pool around her, screaming at father, calling him a worthless piece of shit and being knocked unconscious because of it_

_Father teaching me my 'lessons' earlier than my 10__th__ birthday for being so 'disrespectful'_

_Benji, my old horse, breaking his leg and father killing him_

_Receiving my Hogwarts letter, the relief I felt at being out of the house for most of the year_

_More 'lessons' during the summer_

_Mother giving me my horse Shadowfax, spending hours a day training him_

_Receiving my 'noble' mission for the bastard the Dark Lord_

The images faded and floor came up towards my face. Hands caught me before I hit the floor and then I was surrounded in darkness.

***************

I woke in a soft bed. I slowly opened my eyes and glanced around. I was in my room. Pale sunlight was streaming in through the window.

"You're awake." I turned to the right to see Hermione sitting in a chair beside my bed, Alex in her lap. He gave me a baby smile. I pulled the blankets back and turned on my side, patting the spot next to me. Hermione laid Alex down in the bed and then climbed in. I wrapped my arms around them and fell back asleep, glad I had my memories back.

***************

I woke again that night. Hermione and Alex were fast asleep beside me. I kissed them both on the foreheads and climbed out of bed, heading for mum's room.

"Come in," She called when I knocked. I opened the door and leaned against the doorframe. She was sitting in bed, leaning against the pillows, reading a book. "Hello, Draco. How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I've got a bit of a headache but otherwise I feel fine." She nodded.

"Are your memories back?" I nodded. "Good. Was there something you needed?" I stood there awkwardly for a few moments before crossing the room quickly and climbing into bed with her. I rested my head on her shoulder. She seemed surprised but quickly recovered and rested her head on top of mine.

"Why did you stay with him?" I asked softly. She sighed.

"It was expected."

"Do you always do what's expected?"

"I used to." We talked about some of the worse memories and she cried several times. She eventually fell asleep and I quietly climbed out of her bed and went to my study. I sat down at the desk and stared into space, thinking.

Everyone says you'll be the same kind of parent that you had. But I knew that if I ever hit Hermione or Alex I would hate myself for it forever.

***************

Early that morning, I headed out to the stables. We only had 3 horses but we had room for 20. Mother's horse was pure white with bright blue eyes. Her name was Snowflake. Father's horse was brown and black with dark eyes. He was named Mikelo. We were planning on getting rid of him soon. He tended to be pretty aggressive. I came to the last occupied stall.

"Hey Shadowfax." The black horse lifted his head and stared at me with his bright blue eyes. He lifted his head over the gate and whinnied. "I missed you too, boy." I told him. I stroked his nose before opening the gate and bringing him out. Brushing Shadowfax never failed to calm me down and although I wasn't upset at the moment, it did wonders to relieve some stress. I brushed him for a while, gave him a treat, and then saddled him up.

I rode him well into the afternoon. Hermione finally came out with Alex and called to me. I rode Shadowfax over to her.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"You missed breakfast and lunch. I was worried about you." Without getting down, I reached down and grabbed Alex.

"I'm fine." I shrugged. "Just have a lot on my mind." I walked Shadowfax around in a few circles with Alex giggling in my lap.

"Ok. Well, we're all going swimming if you want to join us." She said. She looked a bit nervous about Alex being up on Shadowfax.

"He's fine, 'Mione. I've got him. And yes, I'll join you. Just let me put Shadowfax up." I held Alex out and Hermione took him and headed back towards the house. I walked Shadowfax back over to the stables at the side of the house. I took his saddle and bridle off, put him back in his stall and gave him fresh hay then headed to the house to change for swimming.

***************

The Friday before Christmas, I went shopping. Since I didn't get Hermione anything for her birthday, I wanted to get her something really nice for Christmas. Going out of my way to be nice, I bought Potter and the Weasley's presents as well as Hermione's parents. I also needed a present for my mum's sister, Andromeda, who would be arriving the day before Christmas. I bought Potter a practice snitch, Ginny a gift card to a new clothing store, Mr. Weasley a book about famous muggle inventions, and Mrs. Weasley a watch similar to the clock that Hermione had told me about. I was at a loss as to what to buy the twins, Hermione's parents, Mum, Aunt Andromeda and Hermione. Alex was easy, I just bought him a bunch of magical toys and a few new outfits. I decided to buy Mum the same thing I bought Mrs. Weasley since she likes to know where I am all the time. I'd never met Andromeda so I wasn't sure what she'd like.

"Twins, twins, twins. What to buy the twins…" I muttered to myself. They had their own joke shop, for Merlin's sake. It'd be kind of stupid to buy them joke stuff... I finally found matching shirts that read "I'm with stupid" with Arrows pointing in separate directions. "Perfect," I said smirking. That only left Hermione's parents and Hermione. Since Mr. and Mrs. Granger were muggles, I had no idea what to buy them. I decided to talk to Hermione about it that night and sleep on her present so I flooed home.

"Hermione?" I called when I arrived though the fireplace. When she didn't answer, I changed tactics. "Tibsy?" The house elf appeared in front of me.

"Yes, Mister Draco?" She squeaked.

"Where's Hermione?" I asked.

"Misses 'Mione is being in the pool with Mister Harry, Misses Ginny and young Master Alex."

"Thank you, Tibsy." The elf disappeared with a _crack_ and I headed upstairs to change into my swim trunks.

After changing I went down to the pool. The pool was enclosed in a glass room between the east and west sides of the house. The house its self was shaped like a square horse shoe but with the pool it was simply a large square. The pool was magically heated so it was okay for swim all year round. I found Hermione, Potter and Ginny in the pool, playing with Alex. I walked around and jumped into the deep end then swam over to them.

"I need ideas on what to buy your parents, 'Mione." I said when I reached them.

"My parents? I wasn't aware you were buying them anything." She replied. She spun around, twirling Alex in a circle. Alex laughed and kicked his feet.

"I'm buying everyone Christmas presents." I said shrugging.

"Really? What are you getting me?" Ginny said excitedly. Potter wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You'll just have to wait and see." I told her. She stuck her tongue out at me and I couldn't resist doing the same. Potter laughed. "What are you laughing at Potter?"

"Nothing, nothing." He cleared his throat and burst into laughter again. Hermione looked at him strangely. "This situation is just… odd. I never thought I'd be at Malfoy Manor, having a blast with Draco Malfoy. Ron would have a cow." Hermione laughed a bit but quickly grew silent. Weasley died in the war protecting Ginny. A few tears slipped down Hermione's face. I went over and took her and Alex in my arms. I gently rubbed her back. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Potter doing the same to Ginny.

"You know," I told them all. "I didn't know Weas… Ron well. Or at all really." I shrugged. "But from what I do know of him, I'm pretty sure he would want you all to be happy. He was your friend. He'd want you to remember all the fun times you had with him."

"I remember in fourth year," Ginny started. "He asked Fleur out. He was a mess afterwards." Potter laughed.

"Yeah, and in second year. He was terrified to go into the Forbidden Forest with me to visit Aragog. In third year, one night he woke up from a dream freaking out because spiders wanted him to tap dance." I snorted.

"He was a great friend." Hermione said quietly. Potter and Ginny nodded. "He and I fought a lot. But we were always able to fix things."

"McGonagall is probably reprimanding him on the other side right now." Potter said, laughing slightly.

"Yeah. And Tonks will be changing her face to make him laugh." Ginny added.

"Tonks? Nymphadora?" I asked.

"She hated being called Nymphadora." Hermione said.

"She was my cousin." I frowned. "I wish I could have known her."

"She had a son, you know." Harry told me.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Lupin has him."

"Maybe we should invite them to the Manor for Christmas. Mother invited her sister Andromeda to spend Christmas here as well, she'll be here tomorrow." I suggested.

"I think you should." Hermione said. We played with Alex in the pool for a while longer before heading inside. I asked Mum what I should get Aunt Andromeda and she suggested a penseive saying Andromeda had been wanting one for a while now. Hermione went back to Diagon Alley with me to find presents for her parents. We bought a book for her father called "So Your Child Is Magical" and for her mum we bought the same watch that I bought Mrs. Weasley and my mum. I also picked up a Penseive for Aunt Andromeda. Now I just had to buy Hermione's present. We also bought some toys for Teddy, Tonks and Lupin's son and a year's supply of Wolfsbane potion for Lupin.

***************

Lupin happily agreed to spend the rest of break with us and he arrived the next day, along with Andromeda. I was happy to meet my second cousin, Teddy, and get to know my Aunt Andromeda, or Aunt Andy as I had begun calling her. Teddy was a pretty cute little boy with Tonks's Metamorphmagus gene. When he was mad, his hair turned redder than Ginny's. Aunt Andy looked a lot like Aunt Bellatrix, without the craziness. She was really nice and hysterically funny.

Christmas morning came too soon. Hermione snuck into my room at 5am and put Alex right next to my head. Alex, of course, decided it would be funny to stick his finger in my ear.

"Argh!" I sat up in bed and glared at Hermione who was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. "Think that's funny do you?" She nodded. "Hmph." I pouted.

"Oh cheer up, grumpy. It's Christmas!" I climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of green pajama pants over my black silk boxers. I grabbed Alex and followed Hermione down stairs.

"Happy Christmas!" Mum yelled as we walked into the sitting room.

"Happy Christmas, mum." I kissed her on the cheek and sat down next to Hermione with Alex in my lap. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Hermione's parents were already down here as were Lupin, Teddy and Aunt Andy. I frowned. "Come on, Alex. Let's go wake up Potter, Ginny and the twins." Alex giggled happily.

"Oh! I'll come with you. Come on Teddy. I think Harry can handle a jet of water, don't you?" Lupin picked Teddy up and followed me to Potter's room. I opened the door quietly, tiptoed over to his bed, and held up my hand. I counted to three on my fingers and we both whispered "_Aguamenti_" and Potter was hit in the face with two streams of water.

"AHHH!" he shot up out of bed sputtering while Lupin and I laughed loudly. He glared at us. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"

"Language, Potter. There's babies in the room!" I said, still laughing. "That's what you get for sleeping in on Christmas day." Lupin nodded and wiped his eyes.

"James used to do the same thing to Sirius and I. I thought it was only fair." Lupin said.

"Wanna help us get Ginny and the twins up?" I asked him. He grinned and got out bed, nodding.

We crept across the hall to Ginny's room and opened the door. It squeaked but she didn't move. Deciding to be nicer, Lupin and I put Teddy and Alex on the bed on either side of her to see what they'd do. Alex just laid his head on her stomach. Teddy, however, starting tapping her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open.

"What the…?" She sat up. "What are you guys doing?"

"Waking you up. Happy Christmas." Potter said. He walked over and gave her a kiss and I pretended to vomit.

"That's disgusting. Don't do it around my son." I quickly picked Alex up and turned him so he couldn't see the gross display. Ginny rolled her eyes and climbed out of bed.

"Are Fred and George awake yet?" She asked

"Nope, they're next." I told her.

"Excellent. I have the perfect idea." She went over to her trunk and pulled out a hand full of what looked like stuffed toilet paper rolls.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Firecrackers." She marched out of the room and we quickly followed. She stopped outside their room. "Put the boys down, you'll need both hands." Lupin and I set the boys down and cast a shield charm around them so they couldn't go anywhere. Then Ginny cast a sound proof charm around them. "This is going to be loud." She explained. "Now, what you do is light this string with your wand. Harry and I will toss ours by Fred's bed, Draco and Lupin, you toss yours by George's bed. Got it?" We all nodded and she handed us the firecrackers. She pushed the door open and we lined up in a row. She counted to three on her hand and we lit our strings at the same time and tossed them by the beds. Seconds later, bangs, whistles and colored sparks were flying everywhere.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Fred and George yelled together. As if in a mirror, they both fell off their beds, tangled in their covers. When the noises stopped and the smoke cleared, they yelled in perfect unison, "Bloody hell!" We were all on the floor laughing.

"Happy Christmas!" I laughed. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up to see Fred and George laughing as well.

"That was pretty good." One of them said. The other nodded. Lupin and I picked up the boys and we all headed down stairs to open presents and have breakfast.

"What was all that noise?!" Hermione asked when we came back down. We all laughed.


	9. Surprise

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 9 – Surprise**

After opening presents and having breakfast, we all went off to do our own thing. Most went back to bed. Everyone loved their presents. I had received the same thing from Potter that I had gotten him, a practice snitch. Comically, we had opened them at the same time, looked at each other and laughed.

"Great minds think alike." Hermione had commented.

"More like Quidditch addicts!" exclaimed Aunt Andy. From my mum and Aunt Andy, I had received a box full of books on parenting, to which I rolled my eyes at them. Ginny and the twins had gone through the twins' shop and given me some of their best products. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had bought me a book on my favorite Quidditch team, Tutshill Tornados. I was thoroughly surprised to receive a gift from Hermione's parents but pleased none the less. It was some muggle contraption called an iPod. I politely thanked them and set it aside, wondering what in the world it was. Mum and I received the same present from Lupin and Aunt Andy. It was a small pensive with memories of cousin Tonks. Since we never really got to know her, they thought it would be good to give us something to remember her by.

The present from Hermione was by far my favorite gift. It was a bit girly, but I loved it none the less. A small metal oval hung from a silver chain necklace. On the oval was a picture of Hermione and Alex, all dressed up. Inscribed on the back was the day we started officially dating and Alex's birthday. She explained that the picture could be changed whenever I wanted and that when the baby was born his or her birthday would also be inscribed on it.

Hermione and Alex were currently in my room. Alex was on the floor playing with his new toys and Hermione was laying next to me reading a book she received from her parents. The ring I bought her glistened in the sunlight streaming in through the window. I had finally found something worth giving her. It was called a Mother's Ring. It started out as a regular diamond ring but the diamond changed based on when your child was born. Hers currently had 3 diamonds on it, all clear. Since Alex was born in April his birthstone is diamond anyways. As soon as this baby was born, the other diamond will change into the baby's birthstone. If we had more children, more diamonds would magically be added to it.

It was a bit of a shock when I gave it to her. When I bought it, only 2 diamonds were on it. When she put it on, another was added to it. Mum cast a quick spell and told us she was having twins. Twins? And I thought one more would be hard…

"Hermione?" I said, playing with a curl of her hair.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe we should find out what the babies are. It would make it easier to buy things for them and name them." She sighed and put her book down.

"I was actually thinking about that as well," She said. "It would be a good idea." We climbed out of bed, grabbed Alex, and headed to my mum's room.

"Come in," She called when I knocked. I opened the door to find her and Aunt Andy sitting on her bed looking through a book. "Hermione, Dragon. What is it?" She asked.

"We were wondering if you could tell us what the babies are," Hermione said.

"Of course," She picked up the book and set it on her dresser. "Lay down on the bed." Hermione handed Alex to me and laid down. Mum pulled her shirt up to reveal her rounded stomach. She tapped it twice and muttered some words. Slowly a faint purple light glowed from Hermione's stomach.

"Purple?" I asked confused. "What does that mean?"

"It's actually pink and blue mixed." Mum said. "So you're having a boy and a girl." Aunt Andy squealed.

"I just love twins!" She said excitedly. Hermione pulled her shirt back down and sat up to look at me.

"Well," Smiling, she said. "Looks like you'll get your girl."

***************

The rest of break passed in a blur and before we knew it we were back at King's Cross saying good-bye to everyone.

"Now you make sure you keep in touch, mister!" Aunt Andy said, giving me a hug.

"I will, Aunt Andy. I promise." I laughed.

"Hermione, it was very nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you as well, Andromeda." Hermione said. Aunt Andy laughed.

"Please, call me Aunt Andy. You're practically family as it is." Hermione blushed and nodded. We finished our good-byes and boarded the train.

"I gotta say, Malfoy," Potter said as we sat in a compartment. "You've got a pretty nice house. Though it's a little big."

"Bigger is better." I said, smirking.

"Not always." Hermione said. I looked at her questioningly. "I don't know." She continued. "The grounds and everything are beautiful, and I'm sure it'll be better in the middle of summer when everything's not covered in snow. But I'm not sure I like the house." She shrugged. "It's too big. It almost feels… impersonal, I suppose." I frowned. Mother had asked us both if we would consider moving into the manor with her after Graduation. I liked the idea. Hermione, apparently, did not.

"Okay…" I considered this on our way to Hogwarts. She liked the grounds… But not the house. I excused myself and found an empty compartment. I pulled out a piece of parchment and a quil and hastily scrawled a note to mum.

_Mum,  
I was wondering if it would be terribly difficult to build another, small house on the grounds. I know you want Hermione and I to move in after graduation but Hermione doesn't care much for the Manor. She loves the grounds, however. I was thinking that maybe if we built a small house on the grounds, we would still be close to you which, I know, is what you want. If you approve of this idea, could please contact some contractor's to do the job? If they agree, I will send building plans of sorts._

_With love,  
Draco_

I went back to the compartment and borrowed Potter's owl to send my letter. Half an hour later, I received a reply and a package. I opened the package to reveal 4 small, black, square things. I frowned at them and read the letter, hoping to shed some light on them.

_Dragon,  
No. It would not be too difficult. And yes, all I want is for you, Hermione and my grandchildren to be close. I will contact out family contractors and clear it with them. Please send the plans as soon as possible, as it will take a while to build since they do it the muggle way, though they're wizards. Which, if I'm being honest, turns out better in the long run. Did you know that the Manor was built the Muggle way? And if you are set in getting a small house, perhaps I will downsize the Manor a bit. I always thought it was ridiculously big. _

_The small black squares are called mobile phones. It's a muggle device and, in my opinion, it is a much faster way of communication than owls. Have Hermione or Harry explain to you how to use them, there is one for you all. My number, Aunt Andy's, the Weasley's and both of Hermione's parents are already in the number's books._

_Have a good time at school,  
All my love, _

_Mum_

"Hermione?" She glanced up at me and I handed her one of the small squares. "They're called mobile phones, or something. Mum got them for us." I shrugged and handed Ginny and Potter theirs. "Some muggle contraption. She said you'd know how to work it." She excitedly grabbed one and started showing us how to use them. She flipped it open and for a second, I thought she broke it. Inside, were small square things with numbers, buttons she said. She pushed one that said 'End' and held it down. The top half lit up and I jumped. She laughed and spent the next hour trying to show us how to work the things.

Experimentally, I found mum's number in thing called a phone book and pushed the button that said 'Send'. I flinched away when it started making a strange sound.

"Did I break it?" I asked Hermione, nervously.

"No," She laughed. "That means it's making a call. Hold it up to your ear." I frowned but did as she said. She laughed again.

"What?" I asked.

"It's upside down." She took the mobile phone from me and flipped it over then placed it against my ear again. I dropped it when I heard my mother's voice coming from it.

Picking it up, I held it about a foot from my face and yelled excitedly, "Hi mum!" I could hear her laughing and I frowned. "What am I doing wrong now?" I asked Hermione.

"You have to hold it up to your ear while you're talking. And you don't need to yell. Just talk in a normal voice. She'll be able to hear you." I frowned.

"These things are weird." I held the mobile up to my ear and repeated, "Hi mum." in a quieter voice.

"Hello, Dragon. I see you're figuring them out." came her voice.

"With a few bumps," I replied.

"Good. With these, you can get a hold of anyone you want at any time, without the long wait of an owl. I'd explain texting to you, but I think you have enough on your hands at the moment." She laughed.

"Texting?" I glanced at Hermione.

"We'll cover that when you get calling down." Hermione said, shaking her head.

***************

"So you really want to name the boy Dimitri?" Hermione asked me one night. We were taking a quick break from working on homework. Alex was asleep in his crib next to the couch.

"Dimitri Adrian Malfoy." I specified.

"How set are you on that?" She asked.

"Very," I replied. She sighed.

"Okay, fine. What about the girl?"

"I told you. I like Celeste and Rose."

"But Rose is such a common name!"

"So we add something to it." I shrugged.

"Like?"

"Rosemarie," I said after some thought.

"What about… Viktoria? With a 'k'?" I considered this for a moment.

"That sounds okay. What about a middle name?"

"We could use Rose."

"Viktoria Rose Malfoy…" I said. "That sounds okay." We talked about names for a while and then went to bed.

***************

It was the day before Valentine's Day and I was freaking out. Full on panic mode is what I would call it. I had no idea what to do for Hermione. So I did what I usually do when I am panicking, I called mum.

"Mum, I need help!" I said as soon as I heard her pick up. I heard her sigh.

"Let me guess, you have no clue what to do for Hermione tomorrow." Came her voice.

"Yes!"

"Hmm…" She paused, thinking. "Well, what does she like?"

"I don't know… books?" She laughed.

"That's not really what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

"I meant… never mind. I have an idea." I listened attentively and took down notes. Finally, I thanked her and went to talk to Dumbledore.

***************

The next morning, I got up early and pulled on jeans and green button down shirt. Then I made Hermione breakfast. By myself, with no help from the house elves. I made a huge mess, but the food looked edible. I placed everything on a tray and went up to her room. I placed the tray on her bedside table and gently woke her up.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at me.

"Good morning." She said. She stretched and sat up, revealing her 7-month rounded belly. I frowned, would that be a problem with my plans? I placed the tray beside her and she smiled again. "Wow. Pancakes, potatos, eggs and… bacon?" She asked. I nodded, a bit embarrassed. The bacon was a little burnt. She happily ate it all, claiming that it was delicious. I had a feeling she was saying that to make me feel better about my terrible cooking skills. I gave her a kiss and sent the tray and dished to the already messy kitchen.

"Get up and get dressed. We're going out for a bit." I said. "Mum agreed to watch Alex today."

"Are we allowed to leave school?" I nodded.

"Dumbledore gave me clearance for the day and since it's Saturday we don't have classes."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Come on. Get up and get dressed." I left the room and hastily called mum.

"Hey, mum." I said when she picked up. "Is Hermione being pregnant going to be an… issue?"

"No," She assured me. "You'll just have to be careful. I'd take Snowflake instead of Shadowfax though. She tends to be a bit more… patient. And just make sure you're not in the hot tub for long periods. Get out and take breaks every once in a while. I already adjusted the temperature so it'll be a little cooler than normal."

"Okay. We'll be there in a bit. Hermione is getting ready to go now."

"Okay. See you soon." I said good-bye and hung up.

"Hermione? Are you ready?" I turned just as she came down the stairs, Alex in her arms. She was dressed in dark maternity jeans and a loose black t-shirt, while Alex was wearing jean overalls and a light blue t-shirt.

"Yup," She said. "Where are we going?" I smiled again.

"You'll see." We walked through the castle and down to Hogsmeade where I apparated us to Malfoy Manor.


	10. Valentine's Day Surprise

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

_I apologize for this being so late. I have 3 other stories floating around in my head and I can't seem to concentrate on just one… Here it is, late is better than never as they say._

_This is now the third version of this chapter. A nice reviewer notified me that, once again, I drifted from the story line and added Ron into this chapter… It has been fixed and I apologize for any confusion. I'm working on 2 other stories at the moment and I tend to lose track of which I'm working on…_

**Chapter 10 – Valentine's Day Suprise**

Mum met us in front of the house and I gave her the plans for the new house. She immediately took Alex and went into the sitting room to watch him.

"Come on," I told Hermione. She followed me into the kitchen. The table had been cleared off to the side of the room and hundreds of candles floated along the walls. I flicked my wand and soft music floated around the room.

"What are we doing?" She asked as I took her hand.

"I'm teaching you to dance." I said quickly.

"Why?"

"Because there is something planned for tonight that requires dancing."

"What is it?"

"You'll see." She didn't say anymore as I taught her to waltz. I felt her rounded stomach against my flat one as we danced to the music. Every so often, I felt a twin kick and smiled. When she had it down well enough, I made lunch and packed it into a basket. Shadowfax and Snowflake were already saddled and ready to go. I helped her up onto Snowflake before securing the basket on Shadowfax and leading Hermione out.

I led her off of the property and into the woods on the western side of the house. I came here a lot when I was younger. Towards the middle of the forest was a small clearing that I had sort of furnished a few years ago. In the center of the clearing was a fire pit surrounded in large rocks and one of our old couches was off to the side along with a picnic table. A small river ran along another side of the clearing and down across out property.

"Wow," Hermione said when we finally reached the clearing. "This is neat, Draco."

"Thank you." I climbed off of Shadowfax and then helped her down. "Go sit at the table." I told her. I untied the basket from Shadow's saddle and laid everything out on the table. "Grilled cheese, tomato soup, and apple cider. All the things I know you've been craving lately." She smiled.

"Thank you, Draco." She picked up a sandwich and took a bite. "Mmmm, this is amazing!"

"I've always been good at grilled cheese." I agreed. "So what do you want to do after graduation?"

"Well the twins are due in May. I've actually been meaning to talk to Dumbledore about maybe graduating early. When Alex and the twins are old enough I'm thinking about going through Healer school." She said.

"I'm sure he'd let you. You're defiantly smart enough to graduate now. But you don't want to be a stay at home mother?"

"Not really." She took another bite. "Not that there's anything wrong with stay at home mum's but I just can't see myself doing it. I'd be bored."

"With 3 children? I doubt it." I laughed. When we finished lunch, we headed back to the house and into the sitting room. "Mum, where's that book?" I asked when we entered the sitting room.

"On the table behind you." I turned around and sure enough there was a thick black book sitting on the end table. I picked it up and handed it to Hermione.

"Pick one." She sat down on the couch and opened it up.

"Dresses?" She looked up at me, confused. I nodded. "Does this have to do with the dancing?"

"Yes. Pick whichever one you'd like." She started looking through it.

"Dada!" Hermione and I looked up to see Alex sitting on the floor grinning. "Dada!" He said again.

"Alex, good job!" Hermione set the book aside and sat on the floor. "Come here." Alex crawled over to her and climbed into her lap. I slide off the couch and sat next to her.

"Dada!" Alex squealed. He pointed to Hermione and looked at mother.

"No Alex." Hermione said. She pointed to me and said, "Daddy." Alex looked at her in awe and then at me. "Daddy." Hermione repeated. Alex crawled over into my lap and patted my cheek.

"Dada," he repeated. I grinned and swelled with pride. I lifted him up over my head and tossed him in the air.

"That's my boy!" I said. He squealed in excitement. I set him back down in my lap. He pointed at Hermione and looked at me questioningly. "Mommy." I told him. "Mama."

"Dada." Alex said.

"Mama." I corrected him. He looked over at Mother.

"Dada?"

"That's mama, Alex. Mama." Said mother.

"Don't push it." Hermione told us. "He'll get it eventually." She reached over and tickled Alex and he laughed. She pushed herself back up on the couch and continued to look through the book. I played with Alex while she looked through the book. Alex crawled away from me a few moments later and over to Mum. Hermione placed the book in my lap and pointed to a dress.

"I want that one." She said firmly. I studied the dress and decided that I defiantly approved. It was a strapless, chiffon and silk dress with a ribbon tied above the stomach. It was fitted above the ribbon and loose and flowing from the ribbon down to just below the knees. The dress came in black, emerald green, blue, purple, or pink and the ribbon choices were the same.

"What color?"I asked.

"Black with a green ribbon." I handed the book back to her and turned to the back.

"Pick out shoes." She sighed and started flipping through it again. She set it in my lap a few moments later and pointed to a pair of flats that came in black, white, green or blue.

"Green." She said before I could ask.

"Size?" She sighed.

"8."

"Ok. I'll go order them." I told her. I stood up and left the room, headed to my study. I pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote down the order.

_Item #33568  
Color: Black with Emerald Green ribbon  
Alterations: Resizing charm for Maternity_

_Item#SF21  
Color: Emerald Green  
Size: 8_

_Time: 2 hours  
Price: 79 Galleons, 11Sickles, 25 Knuts  
Ordered by: Malfoy_

I counted out the correct amount of money, placed the order and money in an envelope, gave it to the family owl, Peps, and went back downstairs.

"MAMA!" I heard Alex scream. I ran down the rest of the steps and into the sitting room. The sight in front of me made my heart stop. Hermione was sitting on the couch, hunched over and clutching her stomach. My mother sat next to her, rubbing her back and talking softly to her, telling her to breath, while Alex wailed in front of her sitting on the floor. I hastily crossed the room and picked Alex up. He quieted immediately but was still whimpering, staring at Hermione. I kneeled down in front of her.

"Are you okay, Love?" I asked anxiously.

"Does it look like I'm ok?" She said, her teeth clenched.

"Draco, go to St. Mungo's and get a healer." Said mother. "NOW!" I jumped up and stepped into the fireplace, Alex still in my arms.

"ST. MUNGO'S!" I yelled, tossing down a handful of grey powder. I swirled away and slid into the waiting room at St. Mungo's. I sprinted to the reception desk. "I need a Healer. Now." I told the receptionist firmly. She looked to be a little older than me with curly red hair and green eyes.

"You don't look sick or injured." She said in a bored voice.

"It's my girlfriend. She's 7 months pregnant and is having contractions. I need a Healer at my house NOW!" I shouted the last word. She glanced up at me, startled.

"I'm sorry sir. We don't do house calls." She said, sounding a bit scared.

'_She should be scared.'_ I thought.

"My family," I began, growling. "has donated a hundred Galleons a year to this fucking place for over 50 years. If you don't get a Healer to Malfoy Manor _now_ I will sue St. Mungo's for twice that amount and you will no longer have a job." My voice raised with every word and by the time I was done, I was yelling.

"Is there a problem here?" A voice said behind me. I turned around to see a man around my mothers age. He was as tall as me with blonde hair and brown eyes, laugh and worry lines were scattered around his face. Next to him was a woman a little older than me with curly black hair and blue eyes.

"My name is Draco _Malfoy_." I stressed my last name. "My girlfriend needs a Healer. 20 MINUTES AGO! She's 7 months pregnant with twins and having contractions. And this bimbo refuses to send a Healer to my house!"

"Calm down, Mr. Malfoy." The man said. "My name is Justin Dean. I'm the head Healer. This is my assistant Healer, Margret Miller. Jessica," he turned to the receptionist. "If anyone calls for me tell them I had an emergency and to leave a message. Lead the way Mr. Malfoy." I sprinted back to the fire place.

"Malfoy Manor." I told Healer Dean, handing him the box of Floo Powder that was on the shelf. He quickly stepped into the fireplace.

"Malfoy Manor!" He tossed the powder down and disappeared into the green flames, followed by Healer Miller. I followed seconds later and slid into the sitting room just in time to hear Hermione scream. Healer Dean looked over at me.

"Give the boy to your mother and help me get her to a bed." He said quickly. Mother took Alex from my arms and I hastily went over and picker Hermione up bridal style.

"Follow me." I walked out of the room quickly, Healers Dean and Miller right behind me. I went up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to an empty room. He went over to the bed and pulled the top blankets off, leaving it with just a sheet and the pillows.

"Sit her on the bed." He told me. "Lay her back against the pillows." I did as he said and then looked at him.

"I need 2 big bowls of water, one chamred to keep cold and the other to keep warm, a bunch of towels and washcloths, some type of clip, a knife, and 2 baby blankets." I nodded and sprinted out the room again.

"TIBSY!" I shouted. A house elf appeared in front of me with a _crack_.

"Yes Mister Draco?"

"Get me 2 big bowls of water, a clip and a knife." I told her. "Bring it to that room." I pointed to the room that Hermione was in. "And hurry!" The elf nodded and disappeared again. I sprinted down the hall to Alex's nursery, passing mother on the way.

"Where are you going?" She yelled when she saw me.

"Baby blankets and towels."

"I bought the twins blankets already. Bottom drawer of my dresser." I ran faster, past Alex's room and down to mothers. I yanked the bottom drawer open and grabbed a pink blanket and a blue blanket then ran into her bathroom to get towels. I got back to the room in record time and gave the blankets and towels to Healer Miller who was charming the water to be cold and warm. Hermione was laying back on the pillows, panting and covered in sweat, with a sheet over her lower body and a baggy shirt on.

"I'm sorry." She said as I reached the bed. I sat down on the bed beside her and smoothed her hair back from her face.

"For what, love?"

"I ruined Valentine's Day." I chuckled.

"I don't care. We can go out another time. Is that… my shirt?" She nodded.

"It was in the dresser. Call Harry and Ginny." She told me.

"Can Blaise come too?" She nodded again. I pulled out my mobile phone and called Potter. No answer. I tried Ginny. No answer. Growling in frustration, I called Blaise.

"What?" came his voice.

"Get Potter and Ginny and come to Malfoy Manor. Hermione's in labor."

"Is she okay? What happened?" he asked frantically.

"JUST DO IT!" I yelled.

"Draco, don't yell." Hermione told me.

"Okay, mate. I'm going. We'll be there soon." I heard a click on the other end and put my phone away.

"They're coming." I told Hermione. "Mum, can you-"

"Of course. I'll be right back." She said, already striding out of the room. Alex started crying.

"Bring him here, Mum." I said quickly. She turned around and set Alex on the floor. "Come here, Alex." He crawled over to me and mother left.

"You're almost ready to push, Mrs. Malfoy." Healer Dean said. Hermione didn't correct him on her name. I liked that. Mrs. Malfoy. Hermione Malfoy. It sounded good.

"Will they be okay? I mean, they're, what, 3 months early?" I said frantically, pulling Alex into my lap. He climbed off my lap and laid down next to Hermione, playing with a strand of her hair.

"They'll be fine. With all the potions and spells we have now, there shouldn't be a problem." He replied. Healer Miller came over and set the cold water on the bedside table with a washcloth then slid the table down towards the middle of the bed.

"Shouldn't?" I didn't like that word at all.

"There are always going to be complications with twins." He explained. "But I assure you, that they will fine once their born." I really didn't like the sound of that. "Are you ready to push, Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione shook her head.

"Can I have a glass of water first?" She asked. I jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom, coming back with a glass of water. She drank half of it and handed it back, then nodded. I set the glass down on the bedside table and kneeled next to the bed.

"Mr. Malfoy, I need you to slide her down to the end of the bed and sit behind her. You're going to need to support her." I nodded and picked her up. Alex started crying again.

"I got him, Malfoy. You worry about Hermione." I glanced over to see Ginny coming into the room. I laid Hermione down on the end of the bed, careful not to run into the table, and sat down behind her. Ginny picked up Alex and started walking out of the room.

"Ginny! I want you in here. And Narcissa." Hermione said quickly. Ginny nodded.

"I'll go get her and give Alex to the boys." She left.

"Legs up, Mrs. Malfoy." Healer Dean instructed. Healer Miller was standing against the wall and I wondered why he had brought her. Hermione bent her legs and placed her feet on the edge of the bed. He laid a towel down, under her bum. I wasn't so sure I wanted him seeing that part of Hermione's anatomy and I had to sternly remind myself that he was a Healer. "Take a few deep breaths for me hold each one for the count of 8." Hermione took a deep breath. "1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8… Release." He did it a few more times. "I need you to count like that, Mr. Malfoy." I nodded. Ginny and Mum came striding in. Ginny kneeled on ground on Hermione's left, Mum on the bed on the right. They both grabbed her hands. "If you want anything for the pain, let me know." He continued. Hermione nodded. "On the count of 3 take a deep breath and push for the count of 8."

"I've done this before!" She snapped at him. He ignored her.

"1…2…3… Deep breath." She did so. "Count and push." I started counting while Hermione pushed.

After a few more rounds, she gasped, "Water." Ginny reached over, grabbed the glass, and handed it to her. She drank it down quickly.

"How are you doing, Mrs. Malfoy?" Healer Dean asked.

"Tired." Hermione responded. Ginny and Mum looked a little shocked at what he had called her but said nothing.

"I'll let you rest for a moment and then we'll go again." Hermione nodded. "How's the pain?" He asked.

"Nothing I can't handle." Hermione replied. Blaise walked into the room just then.

"Alex is screaming for you Draco." He said. I sighed.

"There's nothing I can-"

"Bring him in here." Hermione inturupted. "He can sit next to Narcissa." Blaise nodded and walked out again, coming back a few moments later with a screaming Alex. Blaise set him on the bed to Hermione's right.

"Blood makes me queasy." He explained, shrugging. He turned around and walked out.

"Blood?! What blood?" I asked, panicked.

"Draco, there's always going to be blood during labor."

"Why didn't anyone tell me that?! No one ever tells me anything. I hate blood!" I said.

"If you had read the book that Andy and I gave you, you would know this." Mum said sternly.

"Let's try pushing again, Mrs. Malfoy." Healer Dean interrupted. Hermione nodded. "Deep breathe." On and on it went. I counted while she pushed and attempted to break Ginny and Mum's hands. Alex sat beside me with a pudgy hand on my leg, looking on with a curious and slightly worried expression. I dipped a washcloth in the cold water every so often and wiped her forehead, neck and chest, trying to keep her cool.

"Water." Hermione gasped for the fourth time. She had been pushing for a good 2 hours. I was getting bored and anxious. What if something was wrong? Ginny handed her the glass and she drank the whole thing. Alex crawled over next to Hermione. "Hey little guy." Hermione said to him. "What's up?" He looked at her curiously then looked at her stomach, head tilted to the side. He reached his hand out and patted her stomach gently. "You're baby brother and sister are in there." She told him. He looked at me, then Hermione, then back to her stomach, then pointed to the door. "I think he wants to go back to the boys. Ginny, could you-"

"Got it." Ginny stood up and went around the bed to pick Alex up then left the room. She came back in just as Hermione was getting ready to push again. I started counting again.

"I can see the head!" Healer Dean said an hour later. "A few more good pushes and the first baby should be out." Hermione nodded and donned a determined look. "Count and push!" Sure enough, Hermione gave two more pushes and our second child was born into the world. He put the clip on the umbilical cord and held the knife out to me. "Switch places with someone, Mr. Malfoy." Ginny took my spot and I took the knife. "Cut it right above the clip." I did so, trying not to think about the baby girl that was covered in blood and yucky stuff.

He quickly wrapped the pink blanket around her and handed her to Healer Miller who went back to the wall with the bowl of warm water to clean her off. Healer Dean turned back to Hermione.

"Now we wait. It'll be at most half an hour before you start feeling contractions again."

"Can I lie down?" Hermione asked. He nodded and Ginny moved out from behind her and helped her lie down. A few minutes later, Healer Miller came over.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" She asked. Hermione nodded and struggled to sit up, I slid in behind her and helped. Healer Miller placed our baby girl in Hermione's arms and walked away.

"She's beautiful." I whispered. Hermione nodded. "What are we going to name her?"

"Viktoria Rose Malfoy." Hermione said. I smiled. The baby girl had a fine layer of platinum blonde hair that looked like it was going to be straight. She had her eyes closed so we couldn't tell what color they were, but her features - her nose, lips, eye shape, cheeks - all of them were Hermione's. Hermione gasped in pain and Healer Miller ran over.

"Contractions?" She asked. Hermione nodded. Healer Miller took Viktoria and handed her to Ginny. Healer Dean was there a moment later casting a spell. An image appeared above Hermione's stomach and he studied it.

"The boy is doing fine. He's head down and should be much easier to deliver." He said as the image faded. "Are you ready to push again?" Hermione nodded immediately. He quickly replaced the towel, that was now covered in bloody and icky stuff, and put a clean one down. "Deep breath, count and push." He said for what felt like the millionth time. He was right about one thing though, Dimitri came out much easier. He was born 20 minutes later, screaming, bloody and covered in icky stuff, just like his sister. I cut the umbilical cord and Healer Miller pulled him away to wash him. "I need you to give me a few more pushes."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"We need to get the placentas out." He responded. I climbed back up on the bed behind Hermione. She pushed twice and something brown and red slid out and onto the towel. She pushed again and another one slid out. Curiously, I leaned to the side and looked around her. I immediately regretted it as I saw blood and promptly fainted.


	11. The Talk

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

_So I've realized that I didn't put much detail into Hermione's parents. Rest assured, I will soon. Either in this chapter or the next._

_Also this is the second version of this story. It is basically the same with a few minor adjustments. I realized that I included Ron in this chapter as well as the last one so I redid both of them. Sorry for any confusion and thanks for reading!  
_

**Chapter 11 – The Talk**

Everyone gave me crap about passing out as soon as I woke up.

"How's my little fainter doing?" Mum asked.

"Malfoy's don't faint. I merely passed out." I replied quickly. Mum snorted; something that I was shocked to hear come from her. She was always very proper. But it seemed a lot had changed about her since Lucius died in the war.

"Sure, whatever." She replied. I had similar conversations with Hermione, Ginny, and Potter. Blaise, smartly, stayed quiet about it.

Alex was curious about the additions to the family. We named the twins Viktoria Rose and Dimitri Adrian Malfoy. Viktoria had a fine layer of blonde hair that was straight when she was born but was now curly as Hermione's, it had also darkened a bit to a regular blonde instead of platinum. She had mum's bright blue eyes instead of my grey ones and Hermione's soft features. Dimitri was the spitting image of me with straight platinum blonde hair, icy grey eyes and slightly pointed features.

Hermione's parents visited early Sunday morning for a while and then we all went shopping. We hadn't been able to buy them anything yet so we had to buy everything we needed in one day. Hermione immediately went to talk to Dumbledore when we got back to school after shopping.

"He said I could take my final exams as soon as I'm ready. He'll give them to me himself." She said as soon as she came through the portrait. She collapsed in the couch next to me and I set Alex on the floor and his book on the coffee table. The twins were asleep in their crib beside the couch.

"That's great. How are you feeling?" I asked. She groaned.

"I'm still exhausted and really sore." I turned so my back was against the arm of the couch and patted the space between my legs. She scooted over and sat in front of me and I started rubbing her shoulders, slowly working the knots out. "Uhhh, Merlin that feels good!" She moaned.

"So what about N.E.W.T.s? Will you still be able to take them?" I asked, laughing.

"I can, mmm, either take them in June with, ahhhh, the other 7th years or, ohhh, pay to take them early."

"Would you stay here?"

"I'd probably stay with my parents for a while. Mmmmm, that feels amazing."

"But that would mean that we'd be apart…" I frowned.

"I know but, ahhh, I want to spend some time with them, mmmmm. And I'd be back in the middle of May to take my N.E.W.T.s."

"I'm not sure I want to spend 3 months away from you and the kids." I said, pulling my hands away from her shoulders. She moaned in protest and turned to face me.

"They're the kids' grandparents." She argued.

"And I'm their father."

"Exactly. You'll have them constantly for the next 10 years."

"But they were just born!" I stood up. "Not to mention I'd miss Alexander's 1st birthday!"

"Draco, I miss my parents." She sighed. "They haven't gotten a chance to get to know Alex yet and I don't want it to be the same with Viktoria and Dimitri."

"So instead you want to take my kids away from me for 3 bloody months? No way!"

"What if I come back for the weekends? Or you can come to my parents for the weekends?"

"How about we both go to your parents for the weekends?"

"I want to be able to spend more time with them than that!" She said, standing up.

"URGH!" I growled in frustration. "They're my children damn it! I want them here! With me! I want you here with me!" Alex started crying at our yelling and the twins quickly followed. I was closer to the twins so I quickly turned and picked them up while Hermione grabbed Alex.

"They're my parents, Draco. I don't want to cut them out of my life." She said in a quieter voice.

"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you not to leave."

"It's the same thing."

"No. It's not. Why can't you wait until we can both go _together_? I don't want to be away from you and the kids for 3 fucking months."

"Don't cuss around Alex!"

"He's not old enough to repeat what I say. And don't change the subject."

"Draco, you're not going to change my mind. I'm going to stay with my parents until May."

"Then I'm going with you."

"Don't be ridiculous. You need to finish school."

"I'll take my exams with you. Well go stay with your parents until May, come back take our N.E.W.T.s, graduate, and start our lives."

"My parents would never go for that."

"We don't have to sleep in the same room. I just want to be near you, Alex, and the twins. Is that really so hard to believe? I'm their dad for Merlin's sake!"

"Dada!" Alex squealed, proving my point.

"I'm not going to argue with you. I'm going to my parents and that's the end of it."

"No!" I insisted. "I'm not letting you leave me, taking the kids as well, for 3 bloody months! I refuse to miss the first 3 months of my children's life _and_ my son's first birthday!"

"We'll come and visit every weekend. Or you can come to us."

"I don't want to see them every bloody weekend. I want them, and you, with me every day. What if something happens and I'm not there? What if I'm not there when Alex takes his first steps? Or says his next words? What if he starts crying for me in the middle of the night and you can't calm him down? What then, huh?"

"I'll figure it out when it comes." She said stubbornly.

"Hermione! I don't want to be away from my kids!" I insisted. "You and the kids are my life. If something bad happened to any of you and I wasn't there, I would never forgive myself!"

"Nothing's going to happen."

"_You don't know that!_" I shouted. The twins started crying and I rocked them back and forth, one in each arm. She was quiet. She set Alex down on the love seat and stood, facing away from me. I got the twins quieted down and placed them back in their crib, then turned and sat down on the couch, elbows on my knees and head in my hands. "Why is it so hard for you to understand that I want to be with you and our children?" I said quietly. Embarrassed, I let a tear slip down my cheek. Nothing was more painful than the thought of being away from the family that I loved more than life itself.

Which is why, after the first tear slipped down my face, more fell. Hard as I tried, I couldn't stop crying. I felt a hand on my back and glanced over to see Hermione sitting next to me. I hastily wiped my face and turned towards her, taking her hands.

"Hermione, please. Being away from you and the kids is the most painful thing I've ever had to think about. I'd go crazy without you guys. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't care if I have to drop out, I'm coming with you. Either that or you stay here."

"No, Draco. I'm going. You need to finish school and-" I stood up, suddenly furious, and stormed to my room.

***************

The next few days were the worst of my life. I was furious with Hermione but there was no way in hell I was going to apologize for _her_ leaving _me_. She was studying for her final exams. I spent most of my time in my room but when I knew she was studying I would go down, grab Alex, Viktoria and Dimitri and take them up to my room so she could have some quiet. When I went down to get them I didn't say a word to her. When she knocked on the door after studying, I would either open the door and hand the kids to her or ignore her and continue to play with them.

After a few days had passed, I was getting depressed. I wasn't talking to anyone, not even Blaise. I spent all my time outside of classes in my room and I was barely eating. It had been almost a week since my fight with Hermione. One Friday afternoon right after class, I was on my way back to my room when I heard someone following me. It was the last person I would have expected to try to talk sense into me.

"What do you want Potter?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"How'd you know it was me?" He asked.

"I'm observant." He looked at me strangely.

"I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"Hermione." A lump formed in my throat and I pushed it down, clearing my throat.

"What about her?" I asked, trying to sound unconcerned.

"She's a mess. Because of you."

"It's not my fault that she wants to leave Hogwarts, leave me, to go stay with her parents, taking my kids with her. After Hogwarts she can see her parents whenever she wants. Grandparents miss their grandchildren's firsts all the bloody time. I'M THEIR FATHER! I'm not suppose to miss my son's first birthday or his first steps and words. I'm not supposed to miss the first time my children roll over or sit up. I missed enough of Alex's life when my father had me, Potter, I don't want to miss any more!"

"Then why are you doing this? You're pushing Hermione away."

"I'm doing this because I don't want to lose my children." I growled. "I'm taking my exams early. Hermione doesn't want me to but I've already cleared it with Dumbledore. I'll take them the day after she leaves and be at her parents' house the day after her."

"She'll be furious with you."

"I don't care. I'm not going to miss 3 months of their lives. She can be mad at me all she wants but there's no way she's going to stop me from being with her and the kids." I turned around and took a few steps before stopping. "Oh, and Potter?" I turned my head to the side and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "If Hermione finds out what I'm doing, I'll know exactly who told her." I faced forwards once more and continued to my room.

Hermione was still in the common room studying. Without a word, I picked up Alex, levitated the twins' crib, and went up to my room. I placed the twins' crib next to my bed and sat down on the bed with Alex.

"Hey Alex. How are you doing?" I said softly to him. "I know mummy said we'll be apart for awhile but I'm not going to let that happen." He didn't seem to be paying any attention to me but it didn't matter. "Mummy will probably be very angry with me for a while." I frowned. "But it doesn't matter. I'll not stand for her taking you guys away from me for that long." Alex climbed up to the top of the bed and laid down with his head on my pillow. I smiled and laid down next to him. His little hand reached out and played with a lock of my hair. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep and I quickly followed.

***************

I woke up to a warm body next to mine and a face full of curly brown hair. I sat up abruptly, waking Hermione in the process. I quickly glanced around the room.

"Where are the kids?" I asked frantically.

"Harry and Ginny are watching them for a while. I told them I needed to talk to you." She replied, stretching.

"About what?" I turned around and faced the other side, sitting on the edge of the bed. I felt her move and a moment later I felt her kneeling behind me, wrapping her arms around my chest. She placed her chin on my shoulder.

"I love you Draco, and I miss you. I know you don't like my choices but you have to understand that I'm not doing it to hurt you."

"You might not be trying to hurt me but you are." I said bluntly.

"I'm sorry but I need to spend some time with my parents." She was talking softly.

"Why can't you spend time with them _with_ me?"

"My parents wouldn't allow it."

"Why not?" I stood up and turned to face her.

"They're Christian, Draco. Their against me being a witch. The main reason I kept Alex is because they don't believe in abortion. They hate the fact that I had the twins out of wedlock and they'd hate it even more if I brought you to their house."

"They seemed fine with me at the Manor." I pointed out.

"I told them to be. I told them that if they couldn't be nice to you then they couldn't come."

"Tell them the same thing this time." Hermione shook her head.

"I felt horrible about it last time, I can't do that to them again." I started pacing.

_Christian… Christian…What did I lean about Christians over my summers?_ Suddenly, I had an idea. I froze in mid-step.

"Hermione…" I said slowly. I turned towards her and kneeled down in front of her. "What could I do to make them accept me?"

"I don't know. I've never really agreed with their beliefs." She shrugged. I sighed and took her hands.

"I know what I have to do but I have to do it right. Just know this, I'm coming with you." I leaned up and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you later." I stood up and strode out of the room.

When I reached Dumbledore's office I knocked on the door then walked in without waiting for an answer.

"Mr. Malfoy," He said from behind his desk. "What can I do for you?" He gestured to the chair and I ignored it.

"I need permission to leave Hogwarts." I said quickly.

"Where might you be going?"

"I need to visit Hermione's parents and then I'll be going to Diagon Alley."

"How long would you be gone?" He asked politely.

"A few hours at most." I shrugged. Dumbledore pulled a piece of parchment out of his desk and wrote a note out quickly.

"Show this to the guard at the gates and he will let you out." I stepped up and took the parchment from him, reading through it quickly.

_Draco Malfoy has permission to leave Hogwarts grounds on March 09. He was granted permission by Albus Dumbledore._

It was signed at the bottom and dated.

"Thank you, Professor." I nodded to him and left the office. When I got to the gate, I handed the Auror the note. He nodded to me and handed it back before unlocking the gate and letting me through. I quickly apparated to an alley in Muggle Camden and walked out onto the main street. A pay phone was directly across the road and I walked over to it after checking that the street was clear. Picking up the phone book, I flipped through it.

"Granger, Granger. Granger, Margret. Granger, Mary. Granger, Ted. 189 Mandela Street. Got it." I glanced around and realized I had about 5 blocks to walk. I turned back to the street and threw out my wand hand. A purple, three story bus arrived in front of me.

"'Ello, 'Ello. My name is Stan Shunpike and I shall be tour guide for this evening. We have a few specials tonight. You can buy a cupa for just 2 Knuts or-"

"I just need a ride to 189 Mandela Street." I interrupted him.

"Geesh, no need to be rude. Alright then get it." He gestured me onto the bus and I quickly found a seat. He walked up and knocked on the window. "Go ahead, Ern. 189 Mandela Street." The bus lurched and hurtled down the street. It stopped a moment later. "189 Mandela Street. That'll be 5 Knuts." I hastily handed him the money and got off the bus. I stood in front of a large, white, 2-story house. I took a deep breath and walked up to the door. The bus shot off behind me as I knocked on the door. It opened a moment later.

"Can I help you?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Hello Mrs. Granger. I'm Draco Malfoy. We met over Christmas Break." I said.

"Yes, I remember you. What can I do for you?" She asked with a slightly cold voice.

"If it's alright I'd like to speak to you and your husband." She opened the door wider.

"Come one in." I stepped into the house and glanced around. I was on a landing with two sets of stairs, one going up and one down. She lead me up the stairs and gestured to the couch. "Have a seat." She left and walked down a short hall. I was standing in the living room. The kitchen was set right next to the living room with a half wall separating the two. Glancing down the hall, I saw four doors, two on each side of the hall. I sat down on the couch and waited. A few moments later, Hermione's parents came down the hall. "Would you like something to drink?" Mrs. Granger asked. She was dressed in a black, knee-length skirt and a white blouse, her straight brown hair tied up in a loose ponytail.

"Some water would be lovely." I said politely. She nodded and left into the kitchen, coming back with a try. She handed me a glass of water and gave her husband a cup of tea before sitting down with her own tea.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk to us about?" Mr. Granger said. I took a sip of my water and set it down on the coffee table, clearing my throat.

"I feel like we got off to the wrong start." I began. "I know you're not happy about Hermione's… situation."

"Obviously." Mrs. Granger said immediately.

"I understand that. I also have a feeling that you're not too keen on me." I said uncomfortably. "And I'd like to be able to understand why that is before I ask you what I've come to ask."

"We're Christian, son." Mr. Granger said. "We don't like the idea that you've slept with our daughter before you were married to her." Mrs. Granger nodded.

"I agree that it wasn't the best decision. But, Sir, I love your daughter very much." Mrs. Granger snorted.

"I doubt that." She said rudely.

"Melissa, would you excuse us for a moment." Mr. Granger said, not taking his eyes off of me. She looked at him, surprised, but nodded and walked out of the living room and down the hall. Mr. Granger sighed. "Get to the point. What is it you've come here for?"

"I know you don't like me. But please, believe me when I say that Hermione and our children are my life and I love them very much. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me." I said honestly. "Which is why, I've come here to try to fix the situation. I know that you and Mrs. Granger don't approve of children out of marriage and it's not exactly the way I wanted it to happen either." I took a deep breath. "Which is why I'm trying to do this the right way. I'd like to ask you for permission to marry your daughter." The room was completely silent as he stared at me in shock for what felt like hours.

"How are the kids doing?" He asked finally.

"They're doing great. Alex is talking a bit now; he can say 'mama' and 'dada'. He's still working on walking. The twins are doing good, no major problems." He sat back in his chair with a sigh.

"And Hermione?"

"Studying for her finals. I watch Alex, Vikki and Dimitri while she's studying." He nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment. Abruptly, he stood up and walked over to the fire place, picking up a few pictures. He stared down at them before walking over to me and handed the pictures to me.

"The first picture was taken the day after Hermione was born. The second is her first day of primary school. The third is the day she left for Hogwarts. The last one was taken the summer she got pregnant with Alex." He sighed and sat down next to me. "She's grown up so fast. She's not my little girl anymore."

"She'll always be your little girl." I said quietly, thinking of Alex and the twins. I looked over at him. "If it feels like I'm trying to take her away from you, that's not it at all. I love her, Sir. With all my heart. I know how important she is to you and I would never try to keep her away from you and your wife."

"I know you won't and I know how much she loves you as well. Which is why I'm giving you permission." Relief flooded through me at his words.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I have a few conditions for you though." He continued.

"Anything." I said immediately.

"You wait to get married until you both graduate." He held up a finger. "No more children until you're married." He held up another finger. "You do the wedding in the traditional Christian form." Another finger. "And you come stay with us while she is here." Another finger. "We need to get to know you better and it won't do to have you away from your children and fiancé for three months."

"Done. Although, if you want the wedding in a church, you'll have to argue with my mother over that." He laughed.

"Do you have a ring yet?" He asked.

"Not yet. But I'm on my way to Diagon Alley as soon as I leave here."

"Good." He stood up and I followed him to the door. "One more thing." I turned around in the door. "If you hurt her, no amount of magic will be able to save you, got it?"

"Yes, sir. I'll see you again soon." He nodded and I turned and left.


	12. Interruptions

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 12 – Interruptions**

I sat in my room, playing with the ring I bought at Diagon Alley. As I studied it, I desperately hoped that Hermione would like it. And that she would say yes. To be honest, I had been considering asking her to marry me for some time now. I had actually been planning to do it at the Graduation dance that was planned for the end of the year. It was just being moved up a bit and that was fine by me; I wanted to be able to officially call her mine. The ring was simple. It had a silver band and a rare colored diamonds set on it. The center diamond was normal clear colored cut in a heart shape. A diamond sat on either side, one was red and one was green. It looked a little Christmassy and I frowned at the thought. Maybe I should have bought regular diamonds instead. A knock sounded at my door and I hastily shut the box and stuffed it in my pocket.

'_Nothing to do about it now'_ I thought as I opened the door to reveal Hermione.

"Hello, love." I said. "Where are the kids?"

"Blaise, Harry and Ginny have them." She explained. "They wanted to go do something with them." I nodded and pulled the door open to let her in.

"Good. We can have some time alone."

"You want to be alone with me? I thought you'd be mad at me." She shrugged and sat on my bed.

"No. I'm not."

"Where did you go today? Dumbledore said he gave you permission to leave school."

"And so I did. It's a Saturday and I had to do something." I explained, avoiding her question.

"Where did you go?" She repeated. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down on the bed with me and up to the pillows. I turned to my side and buried my face in her hair that was fanned out on the pillows.

"Nowhere of interest," I lied.

"You're lying."

"How do you know?" She turned her head towards me.

"When you lie, you get this tone in your voice. It's kind of… airy." She explained. I sighed theatrically.

"You know me so well." I propped my head up on my hand and grinned down at her.

"So where did you go?" I groaned and dropped my head into her hair again.

"What's with the Spanish inquisition, love? I left school for a few hours and now I'm back. Does it matter where I went?"

"The fact that you refuse to tell me says that it is a big deal."

"How long are Blaise, Ginny and Potter going to have the kids?" I asked, changing the subject.

"A few hours. Why?" I stood up and held my hand out to her.

"Good. Come on." She took my hand and stood up as well.

"Where are we going?" She asked, suspiciously.

"You'll see." I led her out of the room and through the common room then down to the dungeons.

"Are we going to see Snape?" She asked quizzically.

"Nope." She sighed.

"Where are we going Draco?"

"Just hush and you'll see." She groaned but stayed silent. I led her through the maze that was the dungeons until I stopped in front of a portrait of a large wolf with five cubs around him.

"Dragon." I said. The portrait sung open and I pulled her inside. A grey brick wall stood in front of us and I placed my hand on it. It glowed white and then the bricks shifted away much like in Diagon Alley. Beyond the wall was a small room decorated in shades of blue. A few large muggle bean bags surrounded a fire place.

"What is this place?" Hermione asked, looking around.

"I found it in my third year. Then I decorated how I wanted. When I found it to was just an empty room." I walked over and collapsed in one of the bean bags. "Do you like it?"

"I do." I smiled, imagining her saying that in wedding dress.

"Good. Come sit down." She sat in the bean bag next to mine and I slid off of mine to sit in front of her. I took her hands in mine and took a deep breath, gathering all my courage for what was coming.

"Hermione, first of all, I want to thank you for my children. I can't tell you how happy I am that you allowed me to be Alex's father after how horrible I was to you before. You and the kids are my world. You mean more to me than I can ever say." She opened her mouth to say something and I continued quickly. "Please be quiet until I'm done." She nodded. "As I was saying, you and the kids mean more to me than I can ever express. A few years ago, if someone would have told me that this is what my life would be like, that I was in love with Hermione Granger and had three children with her, I would have sent them to the St. Mungo's crazy ward. But I couldn't be happier with how my life has turned out so far. I already-" My mobile started vibrating and I jumped. "Bloody hell." I pulled it out, saw it was Potter and flipped my phone open. "What Potter?"

"It's Alex. He choked. We're in the hospital wing right now. He's fine now but he's been crying for you and Hermione."

"We'll be there in a moment." I flipped the phone closed, stood up, grabbed Hermione's hand and ran to the Hospital Wing, explaining what happened to Hermione on the way. The second I said Alex's name, Hermione let go of my hand and took off running ahead of me. We reached the Hospital Wing to Alex screaming.

"Mama! Dada!" The sound of his cries made my heart stop. I sprinted past Hermione and picked him up off the bed. "Dada," He said as he cried into my shoulder. Hermione came up next to me and started rubbing his back. I handed Alex to Hermione and she sat down on the edge of the bed with him. I turned to face Potter, Ginny and Blaise.

"What the bloody hell happened?!" I shouted.

"Harry and Ginny were changing the twins and I turned my back for a second to toss Ginny a diaper. I turned back around and Alex was sticking something in his mouth. I figured it was one of his cheerios that fell off the table or something until he started choking." Blaise explained quickly with a pained expression on his face. My face started turning red. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I glanced over to see Hermione standing there.

"It's okay Blaise. It wasn't your fault. Babies put things in their mouths all the time." She said in a soft voice. She rubbed my back and I started relaxing. Finally, I turned back to Potter, Ginny and Blaise.

"Yeah. She's right." I shrugged. "It could have happened anytime." I turned back to Hermione and took Alex from her. I walked over to the bed and sat down on it, leaning back against the pillows and stretching my legs out on the bed. Alex rested his head on my shoulder and I rubbed his back, closing my eyes.

"We're really sorry, Hermione. We should have been paying more attention to him." I heard Potter say.

"Harry, stop. It's ok. We don't blame you guys, really. Three kids is a lot to handle. Don't worry about it." Hermione reassured him. I heard footsteps walking away from the bed. "Madam Pomfrey? Is Alex okay to leave?"

"Certainly, Ms. Granger. Go ahead." Madam Pomfrey replied. I heard footsteps coming towards the bed and a hand was placed on my arm. I opened my eyes to see Hermione standing over me.

"Let's go back to the Common Room." She said. I nodded and got up off the bed. Hermione took the twins from Harry and Ginny and we went back to our rooms. All thoughts of proposing were out of my mind for now.

***************

For the next few days, Hermione and I were both worried about Alex.

"He's a smart kid." Potter said one day. "I think he learned his lesson the first time." I realized he was right but Hermione still watched over him like a hawk. I gave up on going to lessons since I was studying to take my finals early anyways. Any time Hermione asked why I wasn't in class I changed the subject. She was still set on me staying here and her going to her parents. It was almost March and she was almost ready to take her finals. I knew my time was running out to propose to her which is why I was begging her to let Potter, Ginny and Blaise watch the kids for a while.

"What if something happens while we're gone?" She insisted.

"Nothing is going to happen." I said for the fourth time. "It was a onetime thing."

"You don't know that." She said quickly. I sighed.

"Fine, sit down." She looked at me strangely. "Sit down." I repeated. She placed Viktoria in the crib and sat down. Just as I was about to kneel in front of her, my phone rang. "Damn it!" I flipped my phone open, not bothering to check who it was, and said "What?!"

"That's no way to speak to your mother!" Came my Mum's voice. I sighed.

"Hello, Mum. What is it that you need?" I said, more calmly.

"The builder's would like you to come and check the house." She replied.

"Is it done?"

"Not quiet. But they want you're approval before they continue." I sighed.

"I'll come check it this weekend. Can I go now?"

"Are you having sex or something? What's so important that you can't speak to your mother for five minutes?"

"Ewww. Mother! No, I'm not having sex." I heard her sigh, theatrically.

"Fine. Don't talk to your mother. Leave me alone in this huge house by myself for months at a time."

"I'm sorry. I'll call you later."

"Ok. Goodbye, Dragon." I heard a click and stuck my phone back in my pocket.

"Where was I?" I asked Hermione.

"You told me to sit down." She replied.

"Right." I said. I kneeled in front of her. "As I was saying yesterday, you and the kids are my world and I couldn't be happier with my life. I already did most of our relationship wrong which is why I asked your father before I did this part. He gave me a few conditions which I gladly accepted. It's a small price to pay for spending the rest of my life with you. And I want to. Spend the rest of my life with you, that is. Now I just need to know if you want the same." I paused and took a deep breath. "Hermione, will you-" My phone rang again. "Bloody fucking hell!!!" I pulled out my phone glanced at it and growled. Hermione sighed and sat back against the couch. "Yes, Aunt Andy. What is it?!"

"Oh my. You sound angry. Did I interrupt something?" Her voice said.

"Yes you did. What is it that you wanted?"

"I just want to know how you, Hermione and the kids are doing. I heard that she had the twins, what did you name them?" I sighed.

"Not to be rude, Aunt Andy, but I'll call you back later."

"Oh ok. That's fine. We'll talk to you later then." I shut my phone quickly before she could start up again. I turned back to Hermione to blurt out my question when Dimitri started crying. Viktoria started a moment later. I growled in frustration and turned to pick up Dimitri. Hermione picked up Viktoria.

"She's probably hungry." She said.

"He needs to be changed. I can smell it." Defeated, I turned to change Dimitri and decided to ask her later.

***************

We were lying in her bed that night, all three kiddies were asleep and Hermione was close to falling asleep. I propped my head up on my hand and shook her shoulder gently.

"Hermione?" I whispered. Her eye's fluttered open and she smiled.

"What Draco?" She whispered back.

"Marry me." I said bluntly.

"No." She said, frowning slightly.

"No?" I repeated.

"No. You're supposed to make it romantic, drag it out with a long speech, and all that." She clarified. I sighed.

"I've been trying to do that for the past few days. But something kept interrupting me. First Alex choking, then mum calling, and then Aunt Andy calling, and then the twins."

"Really?"

"Yes really. I even got permission from your father first." Hermione stared at me.

"And he said yes?" She asked shocked.

"He had a few conditions but yes."

"What were the conditions?"

"He said that we have to wait until we graduate to actually get married, no more kids until we're married, we have to have a traditional Christian wedding, whatever that is, and that I have to come with you when you go stay with them so that they can get to know me better."

"He did not!"

"He did. You can ask him yourself. So what do you say, Granger? Will you marry me?"

"That depends. Is this just so that you can come with me to my parents?" She asked. I frowned.

"No. I've been planning to ask you for a while. I was actually going to at the Graduation dance but I decided to move it up a bit." I said. She looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged.

"I suppose I could marry you." She said with a straight face. She couldn't hold it long however and she was grinning within seconds. I leaned down and kissed her, before lying down and pulled her close to me. "I knew you were trying to ask me. I was just giving you crap." She said. "And I knew I was going to say yes." I tickled her side and she giggled.

"You snot." I said incredulously. She snuggled into my side and sighed. She leaned up again and pressed a kiss to my lips.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy." She said.

"I love you too, Hermione Malfoy."

"I'm not a Malfoy yet." She corrected.

"No. Not yet. But you might as well get used to it because you will be soon."

***************

The next day, I called Mum and Aunt Andy and told them the news. Mum immediately asked for Hermione and launched into wedding plans. The day after that, we took our exams and started packing for her parents house. We said our good-byes to Potter, Ginny and Blaise and left Hogwarts.

***************

(Author's note: This is part of current time. If you remember at the beginning of the story, it is Draco telling the story.)

How do you like the story so far? I told you it was interesting. I'm going to have to momentarily stop the story here. Hermione is calling me. We're headed to Harry and Ginny's house with the kids. I stood up and left my study. Walking down the stairs, I found Hermione standing in the living room with four kids surrounding her.

"Hello, love. Ready to go?"I said.

"Yes. I just have to get Anna's jacket on." Hermione replied. I squatted down and held out my arms.

"Come here, Ann." She ran towards me, her curly blonde hair bouncing, grey eyes shining. "Are you ready to go see Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and your cousins?" I asked the 3-year-old. She nodded excitedly as I slipped her coat on. We left the house by floo powder and slid one-by-one into the Potter's house.

"Anna!" Squealed a 4-year-old little boy. He ran up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Don't you dare touch that new broom, James Potter!" Ginny yelled, coming out of the kitchen as James and Anna ran down the hall. She was holding a 2-year-old little girl with flaming red hair and green eyes. "Hi guys. How are you?" She came up and gave Hermione and I hugs.

"We're good. How's the baby?" Hermione said, patting Ginny's slightly rounded stomach.

"He's doing good." She looked over at me. "Harry's in his study if you want to go talk to him." I nodded and went downstairs. I knocked on the open door when I got there.

"Hey Potter." I said. He turned around in his chair, laughing.

"When are you going to start calling me Harry? We've been friends for over three years." He said. He pulled his glasses off and rubbed at his eye.

"Old habits die hard." I said simply. "How are the kids doing?"

"Well, James turns 4 tomorrow on December 15, Lily turns 3 in 3 months on March 4th and Ron is due in 4 months on April 9th. What about yours?" He picked up a picture on his desk, studied it for a moment and then handed it to me. I looked down on it and smiled. Alex, Viktoria and Dimitri stood in the back. My 5 year old, Alex had curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. Viktoria looked exactly like my mom had at 4 years old with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, the only difference being that Vikki's hair was softly curled. Dimitri was the spitting image of me at 4 with platinum blonde hair and grey eyes. In front of them stood James, Lily and Anna. James and Lily looked exactly like their name sakes. James had messy black hair and blue eyes, while Lily had flaming red hair and green eyes. Anna had curly platinum blonde hair and my eyes and features. They were all dressed nicely for the picture. Viktoria and Anna were dressed in crisp white shirts and green and black checkered skirts, shiny black shoes on their feet. Lily was dressed the same except that her skirt was red and black checkered. Alex, James, Dimitri were dressed in little black suits. Alex and Dimitri had on green clip-on ties while James had a red one. The picture had been taken for Christmas and I smiled at the thought of how much of a struggle it was to get them dressed.

"They're good. Dimitri and Vikki turn 5 on February 14, Alex is 7 on April 5 and Anna is 4 on August 27." Potter nodded. "Are you thinking of having more kids after Ron?"

"Ya. Hopefully." He picked up another picture frowned then set it down. I knew the picture he was looking at. It was of him, Hermione and Ron at the beginning of their 6th year, the last picture they took together.

"Knock, knock." We both looked over to see Hermione standing in the door way. "Vikki and Dimitri wanted to see their Uncle Harry." The twins were standing on either side of Hermione's legs. Potter patted his lap and Vikki and Dimitri shot towards him and clambered up on his lap.

"How are my little trouble makers doing?" He said, tickling their sides. They both giggled.

"Fine." They said in unison.

"Ginny says dinner is almost done." Hermione said. Harry nodded and scooted the twins off his lap. He stood up and stretched.

"I'm getting old." He sighed. Hermione laughed.

"We're only 20, Harry." She said.

"Yeah but it seems like only yesterday that I met you on the train and you were asking if Ron and I had seen a toad."


	13. In The Same Boat

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 13 – In The Same Boat**

(Current time)

"I'm going to go up to my study, love." I told Hermione. She nodded, hanging up Anna's coat. I quickly climbed the stairs and entered my study. Sitting down at my desk, I pulled the stack of parchment towards me and started on the paperwork for my father's company.

Now, where was I? Ah, we're on our way to Hermione's parents house.

***************

We arrived at King's Cross where we met Hermione's parents. The train ride had been uneventful. The kids slept and Hermione read while I laid with my head in her lap.

"Draco, good to see you again." Mr. Granger said, taking my hand. Hermione looked surprised. Mrs. Granger took Dimitri from her and we left the station. They led us to a white vehicle and Hermione put the twins in the back and motioned for me to get in. Apprehensively, I climbed into the back and sat on the seat.

"Hermione?" I asked. "What is this thing?" She laughed.

"Calm down. It's called a vehicle." She explained. "Muggles use them to get places. They're perfectly safe." She put Alex in the seat in front of me and placed a strap over him. I frowned and looked around. I found another strap to my left and placed it over me but it kept going back up.

"How do these things work?!" I said frustrated after my third try. Hermione turned around in her seat and pointed next to me. I looked down to see a small tan box attached to the seat. "How is that supposed to help?" She sighed.

"There's a slot in it. You put the metal piece of the seatbelt into the slot until you hear a click." I did as she instructed and the seatbelt stayed in place.

"Bloody muggles." I muttered. The time spent in the vehicle was horrible. I spent most of the time with my head between my knees, trying not to upchuck my breakfast. "I prefer brooms." I said as we finally got out of the car. It felt like everything was spinning.

"Go inside and lie down." Hermione told me. Her father let me in and led me to the guest bedroom. I went inside without complaint and laid down, closing my eyes and trying to stop the spinning. I must have fallen asleep because what felt like a moment later, Hermione was coming in to tell me it was dinner time. I got up, feeling much better, and followed her to the kitchen. Alex, Dimitri and Viktoria we all asleep in the play pen in the living room. We all sat down at the table.

"Join hands." Mr. Granger said. He held out his hands to me and Mrs. Granger. I took his hand uncomfortably and Hermione's hand as well. "Oh heavenly father, we thank you for the food you have given us and may you bless it to keep us strong and healthy. We thank you also for the precious gifts of Alex, Dimitri and Viktoria and pray that you keep them and their parents safe while away from our home. In Jesus' name we pray, amen." (_authors note: Sorry if I royally screwed it up, I'm not Christian._) Hermione and Mrs. Granger said amen and we all started eating.

"So, Draco." Mrs. Granger said, looking up at me. Uh-oh, question time.

"Yes, Mrs. Granger?" I asked politely.

"Where will you and Hermione be living after Hogwarts?" Hermione looked up at her mother with a strange look on her face.

"Umm, well. I was hoping for it to be a surprise for Hermione actually."

"Secrets are just as bad as lies." Mrs. Granger said bluntly. I felt my face turn red in anger. Who the hell were these people?

"I'm having a house built. On the Manor property." I said bluntly. I turned to Hermione and continued. "You said that you loved the grounds but that the Manor was-"

"And you'll be married before then correct? I don't think I want my daughter living with a man before she's married." Mrs. Granger interrupted me.

"Mother?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Don't speak to me like that, Hermione Marie." Mrs. Granger told her.

"You're being rude! If you're going to act like this then we'll leave."

"You most certainly will not." Mrs. Granger replied. "You know our beliefs and-"

"And I have never shared them." Hermione interrupted her. "Father isn't acting like child over this and if you continue to we will leave." Mrs. Granger looked at her daughter, shocked. She quickly stood from the table and strode out of the room.

"Don't mind her, Hermione." Mr. Granger said quietly. "She's trying to get used to her baby growing up." He stood up from the table as well. "I apologize for my wife's behavior, Draco." He followed his wife down the hall and it was quiet in the kitchen again, until Hermione started crying. I slid off my chair and kneeled down next to her.

"Shhh, love. It's okay." I told her.

"No! It's not!" She turned to me and I wiped the tears away that were running down her face. "My mother has always been like this! Every time I bring someone home she picks them apart. Even Harry, Ginny, and… and Ron. You know she never even tried to comfort me when Ron died?! I owled them to tell them what had happened and my mother completely blew it off! The worst part is, she's only like this at home. When we're in public she's the perfect loving mother and wife."

"The opposite of my mother." I said, trying to cheer her up. She stood up quickly.

"We're leaving. We'll go back to Hogwarts or to the Manor. I don't care where we go, as long as it's not here." I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down in her seat.

"Hermione," I reached up and cupped her face. "Let's give this a try. Give you mother time to calm down and then go in there and talk to her." Hermione sighed and wiped her face. We heard crying from the living room and we both got up and went to investigate. Alex was holding himself upright, holding on to the playpen, crying. Hermione picked him up and started rocking him back and forth. The twins were starting to wake up but they weren't crying.

"Can you make him a bottle?" Hermione asked. "They're in the bag. Just put some milk in it and heat it up." I nodded and pulled the nappie bag out from under the coffee table and grabbed a bottle then went into the kitchen. I leaned against the counter for a moment and sighed. This was going to be an eventful 3 months.

***************

I woke up to screaming from upstairs. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Realizing it was Hermione and her mother screaming I sighed and grabbed my shirt, pulling over my head as I got up. I trudged upstairs and went down the hall, where I could hear Alex, Dimitri and Vikki waking up and screaming as well. Mr. Granger was in Hermione's room, trying to quiet the kids and failing.

"What are they arguing about?" I asked. I picked up Alex, who quieted immediately, and handed him to Mr. Granger and then picked up the twins and sat in the rocking chair in the corner. I rocked back and forth with a kid in each arm.

"Hermione came in to our room to try to apologize. Melissa said that it was you that needed to apologize. Hermione told her that you hadn't done anything wrong, which I agree with. And the Melissa went off on a rant about how you were corrupting Hermione's soul. Which is when Hermione starting screaming about how you were the best thing in her life, next to the kids. Which is when the kids started screaming and I came in here. That was about 10 minutes ago. By now, they've probably changed subject completely." Mr. Granger said quickly.

"Do they do this a lot?" I asked. He nodded.

"Every time Hermione comes home."

"Wow…"

"_SILENCIO!_" I heard Hermione scream. "Now, you listen to me Mother!"

"Did she just use magic against Melissa?" I nodded.

"It's a silencing spell." We heard another '_Silencio!_' and the house got quiet. "And now she silenced the room so we can't hear what she's saying." We got the kids quieted and back in bed then went out in the kitchen for a cup of tea.

"So what do you do for fun, Draco?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I mostly spend time with Hermione and the kids. But I play Quidditch." He nodded.

"Hermione's told us about Quidditch." We talked a bit about nothing too important. About 20 minutes later, we heard the door slam open and Hermione came striding down the hall.

"I'm sorry, daddy, but we're leaving. Draco, go get packed." She seemed extremely calm and it worried me. I nodded and went downstairs to pack.

***************

"Mother?" I called, opening the front door of the Manor. With a _crack_ Tibsy appeared in front of me.

"Welcome back Mister Draco. Miss Cissa is asleeping. Would Master Draco like Tibsy to wakes her up?" The little elf asked.

"No Tibsy. It's fine. I'll speak with her in the morning. Could you take our bags up my room please? And move the children's cribs to the room straight across from mine. Thank you." Tibsy nodded and waved a hand at our bags which disappeared. Then she left with a _crack_. We went into the sitting room and laid the kids on the floor, placing a blanket across them.

"So what happened?" I asked, sitting down on the couch. She sat next to me and snuggled into my side.

"I went into apologize and she blew up on me. She told me that we were both disrespectful and that you were corrupting me blah, blah, blah." She sighed. "I shouldn't have gone in there."

"No. You shouldn't have."

"It's always been like this." She said. "We've never had a good relationship, always fighting. It got worse when I went away to Hogwarts though."

"Let's get up to bed. We can talk about it in the morning." She nodded and got up. We picked up the kids, put them to bed and then went to bed ourselves.

***************

Life at the Manor was pretty quiet. I showed Hermione the house in progress and she said she loved it so far. Mum was thrilled to have us for the next three months and she was already starting to plan the wedding.

"Draco?" Hermione called one day from the foyer.

"In the sitting room!" I called back. She came into the room with a piece of parchment in her hand. She handed me the parchment without a word and I read through it quickly.

_Hermione, _

_HELP! I'M FREAKING OUT! Ginny is pregnant and I have no idea what to do…_

_Harry_

I laughed.

"Looks like Potter's in the same boat as us!" I said. Hermione sat down beside me.

"I got a letter from Ginny too. She's really upset. Apparently Harry is avoiding her. I don't know what to tell him." Hermione said. I sighed and pulled out my mobile phone, dialing Potter's number.

"Hello?" Came Potter's voice.

"Hey Potter. It's Draco. Listen and listen good. How do you feel about Ginny?" I asked.

"I love her." He said immediately.

"So? What's there to figure out?" I asked, thinking he was obviously an idiot. "If you love her and you want to be with her then go tell her that. It'll be hard to raise a kid while you're in school but it's not impossible. If Hermione and I can do it with three kids then you can do it with one."

"I never thought I'd be saying this… But thanks Malfoy."

"You're welcome Potter."

***************

We had a small birthday party for Alex in April. Potter and Ginny were able to get a weekends leave to come and all the Weasleys were there. Hermione's parents came as well, which we were a bit surprised about, along with Aunt Andy, Lupin and Teddy. Apparently, Lupin had a girlfriend now. Her name was Tamara and she had lost her husband in the war. She was a few years younger than him and I couldn't help cracking a few jokes about how he likes younger women. She seemed nice and she loved Teddy.

The birthday party was fun, cleaning up wasn't. Alex got cake everywhere and tons of presents, of course.

Our house was done at the beginning of May and we had started moving things in. The outside of the house was a pale blue with dark blue accents and a wraparound porch with a porch swing in front. When you first enter the house, there is a flight of stairs going to the top floor on the right and a hallway on the left. On the bottom floor was a living room, a bathroom, a study, and a large kitchen. The top floor held four bedrooms and two bathrooms. We had Alex in his own room and the twins sharing a room for now.

Before we knew it we were back at Hogwarts for N.E.W.T.s and Graduation. Potter and Ginny were doing better than ever. The first thing we did when we got there, after putting out things away, was drag them to our dormitory.

"Do you know what you're having yet?" Hermione asked as soon as we found them. They started talking about baby things while Potter and I walked next to them quietly. They were having a boy and had already decided to name him either Ronald or Sirius, depending on what hair color he came out with.

"So, Malfoy." Potter said. "What's it like being out of school?"

"We're technically still in school but it's pretty boring." I replied. "It's a lot like summer. Not going to classes and not being old enough to work yet." We spent a few hours catching up with Potter and Ginny and letting them play with the kids then they went back to their dorms. Hermione and I laid in bed, talking, after putting the kids to sleep.

"So what do you think about Ginny being pregnant?" I asked her. We were lying on our sides, facing each other, with her face snuggled into my chest. She pulled back a bit and replied.

"I'm not sure. I don't think Hogwarts has seen many pregnancies so I'm pretty sure there are no rules about it. It'll be hard, especially since Harry graduates this year and Gin still has a year to go. But maybe they can work something out with Dumbledore where Harry can visit or just stay here until she graduates." I nodded.

"That would be a good idea you should-"

"DADDY!" Came Alex's voice from the other room. The twins started crying a moment later. We both threw the covers back and ran through the bathroom to Hermione's old room to find two empty cribs.

***************

_Author's Note: CLIFFHANGER!!! Dun-dun-dun. Please don't kill me! I need ideas though. I have an idea of what could happen but I want to know what you guys think :) So review and let me know your thoughts!_


	14. Searching

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 14 – Searching**

I was going absolutely bonkers! It had been a total of three hours since Hermione and I got up to find two empty cribs. And no one was doing a bloody thing about it! They seemed perfectly content to sit back and _talk_ about it. All the Hogwarts professors were in Dumbledore's office along with most of the Order members.

"Bloody fucking hell!" I yelled, standing up. "Do something already! Our children are out, Merlin knows where, and you lot are all just sitting here!" Dumbledore gazed at me over his glasses with a somber look.

"Mr. Malfoy… Draco. We can't just simply take off looking. We need to have some ideas of who could have taken them." He told me. I growled and felt a hand on my arm. I turned around to see Hermione with tears rolling down her face. I sighed and sat down, pulling her into my lap. She rested her head against my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"We'll find them." I told her softly. "Even if I have to go out there myself and search every nook and cranny of the planet, we'll find them." Ginny came over and sat beside us, Potter followed and kneeled in front. Ginny placed a hand on Hermione's knee and Potter rubbed her back comfortingly.

"He's right," Potter said. "We're going to find them." He looked up at me. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" I nodded and Hermione stood up to let me up. Potter led me into a corner and started talking in a low voice. "There are still some Death Eaters out there. Any one of them could have taken Alex and the twins. We need what you know."

"What I know about what?" I asked, honestly confused.

"Any hideouts that the Death Eaters used. Ever. They could be hiding out in one of them. That's where we want to start looking, unless you have any ideas of someone else that could have taken them?" I thought hard for a moment. _Wait!_

"Potter…" I said slowly. "Was that bloke, Matt something or other, ever taken to prision?"

"Not that I know of but you're missing something here. He's a muggle and muggles can't even see Hogwarts, let alone get in without anyone being alerted." Potter shook his head. "Even if a muggle somehow stumbled upon the castle, Dumbledore has a spell surrounding the castle to alert him if anyone leaves or enters. That's also why we're having such a hard time with this." He ran a hand agitatedly through his already messy hair. "The spell didn't go off, which means they didn't come in through the front gates or leave through the front gates. We have no idea how they got in." I froze.

"Potter, I have an idea. I need you to come with me." Potter nodded and walked over to Dumbledore, muttered a few words to him and then followed me out of the office. I ran to the Room of Requirement, hoping my hunch was wrong. There were only a few people that knew of my mission. Only one of them was alive and on the run today. Aunt Bellatrix. If she had my children and she had harmed them in any way, I would personally rip her head off. I skidded to a halt in front of the blank wall on the 7th floor and paced back and forth in front of the wall.

"The Room or Requirement?" Potter asked.

"Shhh." I said, trying to concentrate. Amazingly, he stayed quiet. A few more passes in front of the wall and a door appeared. I wrenched it open and sprinted inside, looking around every turn, trying desperately to remember how to get to that bloody cabinet. I skidded to a halt and spun around, running back down past Potter and turning down a walk way.

"What are we looking for?!" Potter asked, after almost 10 minutes of running down aisles.

"A huge black cabinet!" I called back. I skidded to a halt again and Potter ran into me. "No, no, no!" I stepped into the empty space in the row of rubbish and pointed to the floor. "It was right here! Right here! How the bloody hell did someone manage to move it?! That thing was huge! Big enough for five people to stand in comfortably!" I turned towards Potter. "We've got to find it! I'm almost certain that that is how they got in. And if it is, there's only one person who could have taken them. There's only one person alive who knew about my mission, besides Hermione."

"Who?" Potter asked, looking like he was on the verge of panicking.

"Aunt Bellatrix." The reaction I got from Potter was a bit frightening. His fists clenched together so tight that his knuckles turned white and I was pretty sure I could see drops of blood coming from his palm. His face turned red in anger. Without a word, he turned and ran out of the Room of Requirement. I followed quickly. He ran all the way to my dormitory and stopped in front of the portrait, waiting for me.

"Merlin!" I shouted at the portrait, coming to a stop. The old wizard in the portrait jumped out of sleep.

"Whatch you want?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"I need to know if you have let anyone in this dormitory other than me or Hermione." I said quickly.

"Certainly I have! If someone has the password, it is my duty to let them in. I have let Mr. Potter in and Ms. Weasley and, of course, Dumbledore."

"Anyone else?" I asked Merlin.

"Yes, there was this older woman and a young woman about five hours ago." My heart froze.

"What did they look like? Did they say their names?" I asked, slowly. Potter stiffened next to me.

"They were arguing. One lady was called Bella I believe and the other was called Parkinson." I stared at him in horror.

"_And you let them in?! ARE YOU DAFT?!?!?!_" I screamed. Potter laid a hand on my arm but I shrugged it off, fuming.

"Did they come out this portrait as well?" Potter asked. Merlin shook his head.

"No. They did not." Potter thanked him and dragged me back to Dumbledore's office.

"Professor," Potter said as soon as we opened the door to the office. I was still fuming and I went to sit with Hermione. "We think we know what happened." Dumbledore sat up straight and the room went quiet. "Malfoy, I need your help explaining. I'm not sure what the cabinet is about." I sighed and stood up, starting to pace.

"There was a Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement. Its sister is at Borgan and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. It's missing now." I glanced up at Dumbledore to see him frowning. "Merlin says he let two women in earlier tonight. Bellatrix and Parkinson." I heard a sob from Hermione and immediately turned to comfort her.

"Merlin said they didn't leave through the portrait so that just leaves the questions, how did they get out and where are they now?" Potter sighed, running a hand through his hair, and sat down. Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

"Draco," He said suddenly. I looked up at him. "Do you have any idea where your aunt could be?" I racked my brain.

"There's a few spots that I know of that we could try." I said finally. "The Death Eaters used several hideouts and I've been to most of them. Malfoy Manor was one of the main ones but I can guarantee that they're no there. Mother would never allow it."

"Call your mother, Draco. Make sure she is okay." Dumbledore said. I pulled out my mobile, flipped it open and dialed mums number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hello Dragon." I smiled.

"Hello mum. Have you heard anything from dear Aunt Bella lately?" I asked her. I could hear the frown and confusion in her voice as she answered.

"No, I haven't. Why?" She said.

"Nothing mum. I'll talk to you later."

"Don't you dare hang up on me Draco Xavier Malfoy!" She screeched. "Tell me what's going on, NOW!" I sighed.

"Alex, Dimitri and Viktoria are missing. We're pretty sure Bellatrix has them." The silence on mum's end was deafening. I finally heard her take an unsteady breath.

"Do you have any idea where they could be?"

"No." I told her.

"I have some of your father's old papers. I thought I saw some papers about Death Eaters hideouts. I'll be there in a moment with them. Have Dumbledore open his fireplace for me." I heard a _click_ on the other end and flipped my phone shut.

"Mother is on her way with some old papers of my fathers. She has some about former Death Eater hideouts." I told Dumbledore. He nodded and waved a hand at his fireplace. It burst into flames a moment later and mum came sliding out of the fireplace, gracefully, with a stack of parchment bound together.

"I kept some of Lucius old papers in case anything ever came up. I suppose it's a good thing I did." Mother said quickly. She strode over and placed the papers on Dumbledore's desk then sat down next to Aunt Andy. Dumbledore started looking through the parchments, nodding every few moments, and placing them in different stacks. He finally picked up the smallest stack and handed them to me.

"Look through these and pick out the ones that Bellatrix was fond of. You might need your mother and Aunt's help." He said. Mum and Aunt Andy stood up and we went into a corner and started looking through the hideouts, placing the parchments in two separate stacks. I held up a piece of parchment.

"I've never seen this one." I told them.

"It was used before you were born and hasn't been used since. It's completely destroyed, toss it." Mother told me.

"What about this one?" Aunt Andy said, studying the paper. "It looks right scary. Perfect for our dear sister." Mother looked over at the paper and shook her head.

"'Trix hated that one." Mother said. "She claimed it was too clean." Aunt Andy smiled slightly.

"She also hated being called 'Trix." Mother chuckled and continued looking through the hideouts. When we were done, we went back to Dumbledore's desk. They were talking about different strategies to use and coming up with ideas on why the kids were taken. I handed the stack of possible hideouts to him.

"I've got a pretty good idea why they were taken." I said. Everyone grew silent and looked at me. "Hermione's a muggle-born. It's that simple." Lupin shook his head.

"No. It's probably a way to get to Harry." He said. "Everyone knows that Harry and Hermione are friends. It would be obvious that he would try to protect the kids."

"I'm not so sure." Mother said. "I know my sister better than almost anyone." She paused. "Let me rephrase that, I know more about my sister than any _living_ person. She would see the children as a blemish on the Malfoy family name, and for purebloods in general. The fact that Pansy is with her says that Pansy wants to get back at Draco for leaving her by taking away his family." Dumbledore sighed, took his glasses off and rubbing his left eye. He looked older than I had ever seen him before.

"So we have a few theories. If you and Draco are right, Narcissa, then they may be no hope." He said bluntly. "And in that case, let's pray that Lupin is correct. If they're trying to get to Harry, there is still time to save them." I heard a sob come from Hermione and I turned around and went over to her, pulling her into my arms. Dumbledore picked up the stack of parchment that I had handed him and started looking through the few pieces of paper. He set them down and glanced around the room. "There are four hideouts that need to be thoroughly searched. We have enough people here to send twelve people to each hideout and five staff members to stay here. The heads of houses and Poppy will stay here. Thankfully, it's a Saturday so classes won't need to be canceled." Professor's Sulghorn, Flitwick, Sprout and Sinistra nodded and left. "We will split up in to groups of twelve. When you get to the hideout be sure to cover everything. When your search is complete and if you find nothing, wait. If you find anything, send a Patronus to the leaders of each group with your location and the group will be there immediately."

"Professor," Potter said. "We don't have enough for twelve in each group. There's only 47 of us going."

"No, Harry. I'm going." Ginny said stubbornly. Mrs. Weasley stood up.

"Absolutely not. You're four months pregnant! I refuse to let you go." She said. Dumbledore nodded.

"I apologize, Ginerva, but they are right." He said softly. Ginny glared at everyone in the room and then stomped out. "So that leaves one group with only eleven. I will lead that group with William." The new Transfiguration professor nodded. He was the third one just this year and he looked a little nervous. "Arthur and Molly, you can lead another and Narcissa and Andromeda, you may lead the third." They all nodded. "Remus, you need to get a hold of your… friend. You and he can lead the last group." Remus nodded and strode out of the room quickly. Potter looked after him curiously. Dumbledore wrote down the location of every hideout on four pieces of paper. He handed one to Mr. Weasley and one to mum. He started explaining how we were going to get there and what to do immediately after arriving. Lupin came back halfway through his speech. Dumbledore handed him his list of hideouts. When he was finished with his speech and instructions he looked around the room.

"Who is taking which hideouts?" He asked the group leaders.

"We'll take Black Cottage, we spent every summer there." Mother told him. Dumbledore nodded.

"Lestrange Manor." Mr. Weasley said.

"Hillside Castle." Lupin said.

"I guess that leaves us with Whitehill Manor, William. Each of the group leaders needs to have ten more people."

"I'm not being split up from Hermione." I said quickly.

"Me neither." Potter said. Dumbledore nodded.

"I was already thinking of that. The three of you will go with Narcissa and Andromeda along with Professor's Vector and Hagrid. Fred, George, Emmaline, Theodore, and MaryAnn you will accompany them." Dumbledore said. They all nodded. Emmaline Vance and Theodore Merdock were Aurors. MaryAnn Hopkins worked for the Ministry as a family disputes consultant. They were all part of the Order. Dumbledore distributed everyone else through the groups and we prepared to leave.

We left the castle and went outside the gates to apparate to our various locations. Our group arrived at Black Cottage a moment later. It didn't look like a regular cottage at all. It was made of polished logs with large double doors and bay windows. It was three stories high and mother told us there was also a basement that doubled as a dungeon.

"It'll take longer if we stay together so we'll split up into smaller groups. If you run into anything, and I mean _anything_, you call us immediately." Mother said. "Andromeda, you take Draco and Hermione on the first floor. Emmaline, take Vector and MaryAnn to the second floor. Theodore, take the Weasley twins to the third. Potter and Rubeus you'll come with me to the basement." Mother strode to the front door and tapped the handles with her wand. The doors slid open and we all entered a large foyer. "Be careful." Mother told us all in a hushed voice. "Don't touch anything." She glanced around. "There are a lot of cursed objects in this house. When you're done with your floor, come back to the foyer and wait for the rest of us. If Andy or I receive a Patronus, we'll call out to you guys." We all nodded and split up.

Aunt Andy led us into the dining room to the left first. It was devoid of furniture and covered in dust. The kitchens were the same. We went back out into the foyer and went down the hall to the right. Aunt Andy opened the first door and we stepped into a finely decorated bedroom. I glanced around.

"Hermione, no!" Aunt Andy said. I turned around to see Hermione's hand reaching out to touch a bookshelf. She pulled her hand back immediately and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. It was an immediate reaction." She said. I chuckled.

"In the future, keep Hermione away from all bookshelves, Auntie." I told Aunt Andy.

"I'll keep that-"

"Foyer, now!" Mother's voice came. We ran out of the bedroom and back into the foyer. When everyone was back mother explained. "I got a Patronus from Remus. They're at Hillside Castle." We left the cottage, gripped hands and mother apparated us away.

We landed in front of a castle that was about half the size of Hogwarts but built in the same way. It was 8 floors high as far as I could tell and wasn't in very good shape. Bricks were missing here and there and large chunks of wall were gone. What caught my attention however was the front doors. One of them had been blasted open. Something was drawn on the remaining door in what looked like red paint. I heard _pop_s and looked around to see the others arriving as well. In side that castle, we could see flashes of light coming from the first and second floors.

"Let's go." Mother said. We all joined into a large group and store towards the castle. As we passed through the remaining front door, I got a closer look at the drawing. It was the Dark Mark. What looked like red paint before, I now identified as fresh blood.

***************

_So what do you guys think so far? I know going back and forth between current and past time kind of gives stuff away but I thought it would be a cool idea. And there are a few surprises to come that the current time won't give away. Thanks for reading! Please review for reviews keep me going :)_


	15. Fight For My Children

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 15 – Fight For My Children**

In front of us, there was a battle raging. We quickly joined the fight only to find that there were more Death Eaters that were just joining the fight as well. Our side had more people, but only by a few. We had had no idea that this many Death Eaters had evaded capture. I stunned a few of them and looked around desperately for Hermione.

"Draco!" I whipped my head around to see Aunt Andy running towards me. "We're going to find Hermione and go looking for Bellatrix and your kids." She glanced around. "Why did you just stun them?" She asked, curiously.

"I've never killed anyone and I don't intend to start now." I replied, looking around the battle for Hermione. Aunt Andy clicked her tongue at me and quickly killed the Death Eaters I had stunned. I stared at me in disbelief.

"We have specific orders from the Ministry to kill them. Azkaban is practically full to the brim from their friends." She explained.

"Well, when we find Aunt Bella I'll make sure to kill her." I said grimly. I finally spotted Hermione coming down the stairs towards us. "There she is." We met her half way.

"'Trix was always most comfortable in the dungeons. I'd bet a million galleons that she's there." Aunt Andy said. We nodded and followed her.

"Where are you guys going?" came Potter's voice. I turned around to see him coming towards us.

"We're going to find Bellatrix." I told him.

"I'm coming with." He strode past me and I didn't bother arguing.

"Stay together." Aunt Andy said as we reached the dungeons.

"This place is full of history." Hermione said, gently touching a wall. "I've always wanted to visit it." She said, her voice full of irony. We walked down the halls and checked every room. But every room we came across was empty. Aunt Andy stopped walking and tapped her chin with her wand thoughtfully.

"She's got to be here somewhere." She said firmly. She stuck her hand out and placed it on the wall, leaning on her hand. The brick her hand was on slipped backwards and the wall across from us opened up to show a narrow staircase. "Well, that was unexpected." She said, frowning.

"And luck as hell!" Potter said. He gripped his wand firmly and started down the staircase.

"Harry, wait!" Aunt Andy said. He stopped at the top step and turned. "I'm going first." She turned and slashed an _X_ over the brick with her wand, pushed past him and started down the stairs slowly.

"What was the 'X' motion for, Auntie?" I asked, curiously.

"I burnt an 'X' in it that only I can see." She told me quietly. Halfway down the stairs, we heard a male voice singing. Hermione froze in her step.

"That's Matt!" She whispered. We all stopped and turned towards her.

"Who's Matt?" Aunt Andy asked.

"Alex's sperm donor." I told her. I grabbed Hermione's hand. We heard crying from downstairs and then it was cut off abruptly. It was the twins crying.

"Shut your bloody mouth, filthy things." My heart froze at the sound of Aunt Bella's voice. I pulled on Hermione's hand urgently and we crept down the stair case. Aunt Andy stopped on a step and pressed herself against the wall.

"The ceiling ends here." She whispered to us. "If we go any further they'll see us." She motioned us back a few steps and laid down on the step. For a moment, I thought she had gone off her rocker, until I noticed that by laying on the step she could tilt her head and see into the room below. She always had been the smart one in the family. She jumped back onto her feet. And stepped up a few stairs, motioning for us to move back more. "Ok, all three of them are there. It looks like Bella just put a silencing charm on the twins. They're fine. I can see them crying but no sound is coming out. There's a man that's holding Alex. He looks a bit older than you three with messy brown hair." Hermione nodded.

"That's Matt." She said.

"Alex looks like he's asleep. I saw him breathing so he's fine too." I beathed a sigh of relief and felt Hermione relax a bit beside me as well. "Is Matt a muggle or a wizard?"

"Muggle." Hermione told her. "And he's usually high on something. He shouldn't be a problem." Aunt Andy nodded.

"Matt, Bella and another man are in there. I don't recognize the man though he has a wand laying next to him. Their sitting at a table in the far corner. The man is reading and Bella is just staring into space. Matt is closest to us. He's holding Alex about 5 feet from the staircase." She said this all very quickly and stopped to take a deep breath. "Here's the plan. I'm going to sprint down the staircase and train my wand on the two at the table. As soon as I'm in the three of you follow. Draco, you take down the unknown guy as soon as you can. Harry, train your wand on Matt's head, not his chest, you could hit Alex. But don't fire. If you do anything he could drop Alex. Hermione," She focused all her attention on Hermione. "When we have our wands on them, you go get the twins. Before we go down, I'm going to call for a few people to come. They'll wait on the staircase. When you get the twins, go up the staircase and give them the twins. Hold on." She walked up a few more stairs and cast her Patronus. "Go find Narcissa, Lupin and his friend. Tell them we're in the dungeons and we need them. Go all the way down the main hall. The wall is open at the end on the left." The panther nodded and took off up the stairs. She turned back to us and stepped down a few steps so we could hear her. "As soon as they get here-"

"Michael, go see how the battle is going." Came Aunt Bella's voice. We head a chair scrap and we took off up the stairs. We reached the top of the stairs and stood off to the side. We heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Aunt Andy motioned us back and handed me her wand.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to her. She put her finger to her lips and shot across the hall to shut the wall. It slid shut soundlessly and she pressed herself against the left wall once more. The wall slid open a few moments later. The guy came out from the stair case and didn't even glance at us. He was very pale and had a bald head. He was dressed in plain jeans and a black shirt. The guy was huge! He waved his wand and the wall slid shut again. He started walking down the hall and I tried to hand Aunt Andy her wand again. She shook her head and followed the guy.

My Aunt Andy is pretty small. In fact, she's shorter than Hermione and very slim. But I never imagined that she could do this!

As if she had done it a million times before, she jumped on the guys back and snapped his neck to the side. The guy grunted and collapsed to the floor as Lupin, Narcissa and a figure in a black hooded robe came running around the corner.

"What was that?" Lupin asked.

"Michael." Aunt Andy said simply. She turned back towards us and pressed a brick in the right wall. The wall opposite slid open. She quickly caught the new group up and continued with her plan. "Hermione is going to give the twins to you guys. Hermione, after you hand the twins to them we need to get Alex. Harry, do you know how to cast and hold an Imperius curse?" Potter shook his head.

"I do." Said the hooded man. The hood covered his whole face and unnerved me a bit. Harry looked at him, his eyes narrowed.

"Good. Then change of plans. Harry, you'll stay with 'Cissa and Lupin. You'll come with us and train your wand on the only man down there. Cast the Imperius curse on him. Hermione will go up to him and take Alex. You need to make sure that he'll give Alex up. As soon as Hermione is out of the way with Alex, take him off the Imperius."

"What am I to do Aunt?" I asked. "You killed the man that I was supposed to watch." I pointed out.

"You can help me take down Bella. It'll probably take two of us." She said, grimly. "Matt shouldn't be much of a problem. He's a muggle. Just stun him or something, there's really no need to kill him. We can wipe his memory later. When Hermione and Alex are out of the way, either Harry or Narcissa will come down here and help us take down Bella. Lupin, you'll stay up here with the twins. I hate talking about killing my sister but we have to." Everyone nodded and we headed down the stairs again. We stopped at the top of the ceiling and Aunt Andy sprinted down the stairs, wand pointing at Aunt Bella. Aunt Andy froze.

"Tell your friends to come down here, dear Andy." Came Aunt Bella's voice. Aunt Andy nodded, not looking at us. I held out a hand to stop Potter, Lupin and mother from coming down. Hermione, the hooded guy and I stepped down the remaining stairs. I froze as the room came into view, as did Potter and Hermione. Aunt Bella was sitting in a rocking chair holding Dimitri, who was silently screaming. "All the way down, nephew." She glanced up at me then turned back to my son. I gripped my wand, swallowed hard and walked down the remaining steps. When we were on the floor, she started talking again. "Cute little buggers." She said, running a finger down Dimitri's cheek. She lifted her eyes to look at us, her head still down. It was creepy. "Don't you think?" Her head lifted up towards us and she tilted it to the side, looking a bit like a cat. A very creepy, absolutely bonkers cat. She stood up quickly and put Dimitri back in the crib with Viktoria. "How did you get passed Michael?" She asked.

"You know I've always been good at sneaking up on people, 'Trixy." Aunt Andy said, almost cheerfully.

"Don't call me that!" Aunt Bella snarled. "Mathew, put the mongrel down." Matt just stood there. "Put the child down!" Aunt Bella shrieked, her head snapping towards him. The second her head turned we all pointed our wands at her. She glared at us and then laughed. "You really think you can kill me?" She said slowly. Her head snapped towards Matt again as he started walking towards Hermione. "Where are you going?" He said nothing. He reached us and Aunt Bella watched in shock as he handed Alex to Hermione. I glanced at the hooded guy. He was good. Matt collapsed as soon as Alex was safely in Hermione's arms.

Hermione sprinted up the stairs with Alex and handed him to Lupin who started checking him over for injuries or spells. Hermione came back down the stairs.

"Stand aside, 'Trixy." Mother said. Aunt Bella ignored her and started pacing, her hands behind her back.

"Don't you want to know why I took them?" She asked, still pacing furiously.

"That would be nice." I said. She stopped pacing and laughed manically.

"It was all Mathews idea." She snarled turning towards us. "He wanted his son back. I ran into him in the country side, not far from him. Parkinson joined us not far after that. She wanted to get back at Draco for choosing the filthy Mudblood over her." She said this all very calmly, as though discussing the weather. "My reasons were simple, of course. I wanted to kill the boy-who-lived. To avenge the Dark Lord. And it had the added advantage of ridding the world of three filthy half-breeds." Suddenly, a door on the other side of the room banged open and Pansy came striding out in an outfit identical to Bellatrix's. The skirt was made of some black net material in multiple layers. The shirt was tight and blood red and had a corset in front. Black leather gloves covered their hands and arms and connected to the top. They wore black, thick-soled boots on their feet. Pansy's hair was almost as greasy as Snape's used to be.

"Hello Pansy." I spat.

"Well hello there, Drakie. Aren't you happy to see me?" She cooed.

"No. I'm rather not."

"Listen to me!" Aunt Bella shrieked. "That's not the whole reason that I took them." She was staring at the hooded man. "You are, my dear cousin."

"You always have been off your rocker Bellatrix." The man replied.

"And you've always been an idiot!" She hissed back. "Why couldn't you just stay dead?"

"With you roaming about trying to kill my godson? I think not." He finally pulled his hood down.

"S-sirius?" Potter stuttered.

"Of course it is! Who the bloody hell did you think it was, stupid boy?!" Aunt Bella shouted. "How did you do it Sirius?" She asked, almost lovingly.

"It's not bloody likely that I'll tell you." He said calmly. Suddenly, the silencing spell on the twins wore off and their screams filled the air. Several things happened at once, so fast that I wasn't sure I caught it all. Aunt Bella whipped around, her wand pointed at the twins. A green light filled the room. Hermione lunged towards her and tackled her to the ground, knocking her wand several feet away. Pansy tried to jump on Hermione. Aunt Andy grabbed her by the hair and pulled her away. I ran towards Hermione and pulled her off Aunt Bella. I looked over to see Aunt Andy and Potter battling Pansy and I quickly shot a disarming spell at Pansy. Her wand flew out of her hand and Potter stunned her. I looked back down at my aunt, surprised. She was dead.

"What happened?" I asked, mostly to myself.

"That would be me." Mother said. I turned to see her, wand still up, with a shocked look on her face. "She was going after my grandbabies and I didn't think. I just threw myself down the stairs and fired."

"Get the twins and Alex out of here." Aunt Andy said, breathing hard. I nodded. Hermione turned towards the twins and picked them both up, holding the close. We walked up the stairs and I took Alex from Lupin, glad to have him back in my arms. I was aware that several people were following us but I didn't care. I wrapped my free arm around Hermione. She was crying silently. I could hear Potter, Lupin and Black talking behind us. It sounded like they were arguing.

We reached the first floor to find it littered with bodies, mostly Death Eaters. Dumbledore was standing in the doorway, facing away from us.

"Are the children okay?" He asked as we reached him.

"Yes, sir." I told him.

"Good. And your Aunt Bellatrix?"

"She's dead."

"Shame. Did you lose anyone in your group?"

"No, Professor."

"That's good. That's good." He turned around and faced us. "Well, we best be getting back to Hogwarts. It's almost dinner time. I'm sure you are all famished." We nodded and followed him out of the castle where everyone else was waiting. We had lost two people. Dumbledore would need to find yet another Transfiguration professor and the Ministry was in need of a new family disputes consultant.


	16. The Hardest Goodbye

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 16 – The Hardest Goodbye**

The details of our battle were displayed on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ the next day, with a side box discussing whether or not Sirius Black should be cleared of his charges. Everyone knew he was back but no one knew how. Black sat down with all of us and explained what had happened in 5th year with the Department of Mysteries.

Apparently, Bellatrix's killing curse didn't hit him. He was stepping back to dodge it and he fell into the veil. He ended up getting stuck between this world and the next, wandering around for a year. Time was different there and to him it only felt like a few minutes. James and Lily Potter came to give him a choice of staying or going back. It hadn't been his time to die. They had a way of being able to see into this world and he realized that Harry still needed him. Black, James and Lily talked for a while and then they sent him back, straight to Lupin.

He had gotten back in the middle of 7th year. He didn't want to be out in public, which is why he hadn't revealed himself until now. Now that he was, people were going crazy over whether he would be deemed innocent or not. Most people were going into fits over that fact that Dumbledore was hiring him to teach Transfiguration.

"_There was no proof that he didn't kill those 12 muggles._" Hermione read from the paper. "_Peter Pettigrew confessed that he was the one responsible for the muggles._ For Merlin's sake, it just goes on and on. Sirius, you really should go to the Ministry for this. We all know they're discussing it. Go down there and tell them that your innocent, tell them what really happened."

"They would still have a good chat about it!" Sirius said. "It's the Ministry of Magic, they like to make things drawn out and-"

_Tap, tap, tap_

We all turned towards the dormitory window to see an owl. Hermione got up and let the bird in, pulling the letter from his foot. She looked at it and smiled then handed the letter to Sirius. He pulled it open and scanned through it frowning.

"It's a formal apology from the Ministry of Magic board." He grinned. "They've cleared my name and a public apology will be made in the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow morning."

"That's great!" Lupin said, clapping him on the back. Potter and Ginny started singing.

"_He got off, he got off, he got off!_"

"Will you two kindly stop." I told them. "I'm trying to get Dimitri to sleep." They started whispering it and I rolled my eyes, adjusting my son in my arms. I glanced around the room and thought about how crazy this would have sounded a few years ago.

I never thought I'd be sitting in a room with Hermione, Potter, Ginny, and 3 babies. Let alone the werewolf professor and a pardoned convict.

"Wow, Malfoy. You're smiling. I don't think I've ever seen that before." Potter said.

"And don't expect to see it again." I told him quickly. Hermione knocked her shoulder into mine.

"Don't listen to him, Harry. He's really just a big softy." She said, grinning over at me.

"I am not!" I told her. Sirius yawned and stretched.

"Well, I'm tuckered. Night all." He said, standing up. "Don't be late for class tomorrow morning. I'm your first class of the day!" Potter groaned.

"Padfoot is horrible in the mornings! He's worse than Remus the morning after the full moon!" He complained. Lupin chuckled.

"If you think I'm bad full moon morning, you obviously haven't seen him on a full moon morning." I frowned.

"Wait. I'm confused. Is Black a werewolf too?" I asked.

"No. He just keeps me company during the full moons." Lupin replied.

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked, incredulously.

"Not for animals." Hermione laughed and I frowned.

"But Black's not an animal. That's really dangerous for him!" Hermione laughed harder and I glared at her.

"Sirius is an animagus, love. He changes into a huge black dog."

"Oh." I said, feeling stupid.

The first morning of N.E.W.T. testing dawned bright and early. Hermione was up at 5am studying, waking me and the kids up in the process. I got Alex, Viktoria and Dimitri dressed for the day while Hermione tried to cram more information into her brain.

"Love, if you don't know everything already you won't learn it in the next two hours." I told her. She glared at me.

"I might have forgotten something!" She snapped.

"I highly doubt anything could escape the steel trap that is your mind." I replied. "And I say in the most loving way possible." I added as she continued to glare at me. "Come on. Let's go down to breakfast. That will help more than anything." She sighed and put the book down to grab Alex.

We met Potter and Ginny in the Great Hall, got breakfast and then stood in the Entrance Hall to wait for our N.E.W.T's. We had our written sections first, in alphabetical order, so Potter and Ginny took Alex and the twins outside to play in the sun, or sleep in the sun, as was the case with the twins, while Hermione and I went in to take Arithmancy.

The written section would take a week, with all the 7th years doing their exams at the same time in the Great Hall. There were two exams a day. Today we had Arithmancy and Astronomy. The practical exams were a little more frantic. They would be set in the Great Hall at certain times of the day, with certain groups, one subject a day, with Astronomy spread out over 10 days at night, obviously. Thank Merlin we got the weekends off.

An older woman started calling out names, alphabetically, and pointing to seats. Hermione's name was called and I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. They called a few more names and I was seated directly behind Hermione. This would not be good for my concentration. Once everyone was seated, papers appeared on our desks, along with quills and ink, and the test began.

Tuesday morning was much the same. Hermione woke us up at 5am, she studied while I got the kids ready and we went to breakfast. Exams started right after breakfast and went until just before lunch when we had a short break. Our second exam started shortly after lunch and went until dinner.

We had Care of Magical Creatures and Charms today, DADA and Divination tomorrow, History of Magic and Muggle Studies on Thursday and finally Potions and Transfiguration on Friday. We would get out practical exam time chart Friday night at Dinner.

We were once again seated in the Great Hall for our exam.

_1) List the Ministry of Magic classifications for the following animals: Demiguise, Flobberworm, Hippogriff._

_2) What famous candy is made from dried Billywig stings?_

_3) What is the most dangerous breed of Dragon?_

I rolled my eyes. When the bloody hell would I use this information? I quickly went through the five pages of questions and answered one after another. I turned my paper in and saw Hermione slipping out the front doors. I followed her down to where Ginny and the kids were.

We discussed the test a bit and played with the kids. Potter joined us shortly after and then we all went to lunch.

"What did you put for the classification of the Hippogriff, Malfoy?" Potter asked, laughing.

"X times a hundred." I told him, frowning. Hermione looked shocked.

"You didn't really put that did you? That's not right!"

"No, love. Calm down. I put XXX." She nodded.

"Good. I liked the question about the Basilisk." Hermione smiled.

"Yeah. How long has it been since a reported Basilisk sighting? About 5 years."

"The key word is _reported_, Harry. You never reported yours."

"Well, I couldn't have. They'd have locked me away a long time ago if they thought I was that crazy!"

The written exams didn't go too badly. I was fairly certain that I had at least passed all of my subjects. Hermione was freaking out, of course, although everyone knew she had no reason too. We were sitting in the Great Hall waiting for our time charts for practical exams. It still felt strange sitting at the Gryffindor table but Hermione had refused to sit at the Slytherin table and I had refused to be away from her and the kids. Lupin and Black came by with our time charts and we looked over them quickly.

"I have Care of Magical Creatures at 9am Monday morning." Hermione said. She pulled my time chart out of my hands and studied it. "So do you." She smiled. Harry handed her his time chart and she compared each one. "You too, Harry! We all have Astronomy together on Monday night and then Charms together on Tuesday at 3pm. That's nice. Giving us time to sleep. Defense we're all together at 10am on Wednesday. Thursday we're separated. I don't have divination. We have Potions separately on Friday. Then back together on Tuesday for Transfiguration at 11am." She said this all very quickly and in one breath. She handed me and Potter our time charts back, smiling. I glanced at Potter and rolled my eyes. He nodded.

We had to properly care for a baby Hippogriff in our practical Care of Magical Creatures exam. It wasn't pretty. My Hippogriff hated me. Astronomy went well, though I was pretty sure I misspelled a few things. Charms was a piece of cake. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a little worse. We had to cast our Patronus. I was never very good at it so it was a bit nerve racking. I finally got it down and it ended up being a bloody lion.

"A lion?" Hermione laughed. "Oh my that's funny!"

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." I told her and Potter, who promptly laughed harder.

I had never been one to laugh at Divination. My grandmother on my father's side had been a well known Prophetess and I seemed to have a bit of knack for it as well. So when the Professor giving the test had said we were looking into our own futures for the practical exam I got a little nervous. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see what was in my future. Looking back on it now, it was extremely accurate.

_I sat in my new office in my new building of my new organization a year after graduation. Malfoy Incorporated. It was an ingenious idea that Hermione had come up with. We would market muggle products to the wizarding world, things like television, mobile phones, and computers. _

"_What do you think?" A voice asked from the doorway. I looked up from my new desk to see Hermione standing in the door way._

"_It's amazing, Mrs. Malfoy." I told her. She laughed and came to sit on my lap._

"_You'd think that after almost a year of being married you'd be used to my last name by now." She snuggled into my chest and I placed a hand on her rounded stomach._

"_You'd also think that after seven months of you being pregnant I'd be used to the fact that I'm going to be a father again. But I'm not." She laughed again._

"_Well, you only have two months to prepare so hurry up." I gazed at the ring I had bought her and smiled._

_On a whim I asked her, "Are you happy with our life?" She looked at me, shocked._

"_Of course I am. I love my life." She said honestly. "Why would you ask that?"_

"_Just wondering. There isn't anything you would want to be different?" She took my face between her hands and looked me straight in the eye._

"_Draco Malfoy. I love you with everything I am. I'm more happy now that I ever thought I could be." She placed a kiss on my lips. "You and our children are my life. And I couldn't be happier." I nodded._

"_That's good to know."_

The vision faded and I blinked quickly, trying to hide the tears that had formed. Were we really going to be that happy in the future? I debated on whether or not to tell Hermione about it but decided against it. She probably wouldn't believe it anyways. I described in detail what I saw to the test professor and then left.

We finished up the last of our tests, potions and Transfiguration and then spent time with friends until Graduation.

"Welcome, friends and families, to the graduation of the class of 1997." Dumbledore announced. "We have many talented young witches and wizards here, many of which fought in the war. First, we will hear a speech from our Head girl, Hermione Granger, and our Head boy, Draco Malfoy." The audience clapped as Hermione and I made our way to the podium. Hermione was fiddling with a piece of parchment in her pocket and I grabbed her hand to still it.

"Just speak what you feel, love." I whispered to her. She nodded and stepped on to the stage. Hermione cleared her throat several times before beginning.

"Hogwarts has been like a second home to us. For some it was the only home." She began. "We've made new friends through the years and many were lost in the last war." Her voice cracked on the last word and I rubbed her back comfortingly. She smiled up at me and continued. "The memories made here will last lifetimes. And hopefully my children and their children will be able to make memories here as well." She cleared her throat again. "There's a muggle song called Graduation and I think it captures this moment very well. The moment that we all leave school for good. It will be played at the dance afterwards. Be sure to listen to the lyrics very closely." She looked up at me and I took that as my queue to begin.

"This school unparticular is filled with constant drama. It's basically a given when you go to school with the Golden Trio." Hermione chuckled as did several other people in the audience and the class. "I'll be the first to admit. My first five years here were horrible. But my last two? They were fantastic and I'll never forget them. I've made real friends and I have a family of my own." I could see Alex struggling in my mother's arms in the audience and I smiled. I glanced over at Dumbledore, who nodded. "Let him down, Mum. He's just going to cause a fuss." My mother let Alex down and he came running towards us. Hermione scooped him up and he laughed. "Having a child while you're in school is extremely hard." I continued, still watching Alex and Hermione. "But I wouldn't give up my children for anything. I'm extremely happy with how my years at Hogwarts turned out. All I can hope for now is that it's open for another few decades so that my children and grandchildren can come to this school as well."

"Good luck to the graduating class of 1997!" Hermione finished. "May the rest of your lives be as exciting and eventful as your seven years here at Hogwarts!" We returned to our seats and Professors Dumbledore, Lupin and Black started calling out names for completion certificates.

"We're done with school!" I sighed, collapsing on the couch of the common room.

"Speak for yourself." Ginny grumbled. I grinned over at her.

"Don't worry. You'll be done soon. What time does that dance start?" I asked.

"8pm to midnight." Hermione said, coming down from putting the kids to sleep.

"4 hours?!" I exclaimed.

"We don't have to stay the whole time." Hermione replied. "I don't suppose you'd be up for helping me, Gin, would you?"

"Helping you with what?"

"Finishing up some last minute details for the wedding." I sat up quickly.

"You're done planning it already?" I asked, shocked. She nodded.

"Almost. I just need to send out invitations and buy a dress and clothes for the kids, which you're helping me with by the way." I rolled my eyes.

"When were you planning me on telling me when it was?" I asked, sarcastically.

"The night before." Hermione replied smartly. "It's planned for July 23rd." I collapsed back on the couch and shook my head.

"Women." I said to the ceiling. Potter laughed. Ginny and Hermione disappeared upstairs and Potter and I were left in silence. It was a strange silence though. I was used to uncomfortable silences. This was an easy, comfortable silence and I briefly wondered when that had changed. "So are you scared?" I asked Potter, looking at him from the corner of my eye. He nodded.

"Yeah. A bit. I'm not sure I know how to live a normal family life." He shrugged. "Not sure what I'll do all day long. Dumbledore told me I could stay here if I wanted, so I could be here for Gin, but he wants her to stay here and finish school."

"School is important. If you don't have a certificate you don't go very far." I told him.

"I know. But Ginny and I have already discussed it. She wants to be a stay at home mum anyways. She might just skip her 7th year." He shrugged.

"Her mother will be furious, you know that right?" I asked.

"Yeah, we know. But she did the same thing so I figure she can't be too mad."

"And what are you going to do if you don't make enough money to support her and the kids?" I asked him.

"That's not a problem. I have enough money from my parents to last me a few lifetimes with 10 kids." He said, chuckling. I sat up in horror.

"You're not really going to have 10 children are you?!" I asked. He laughed and shook his head.

"It was just an example, Draco." At the sound of my first name coming from him, I stopped.

"You called me Draco." I said, slightly confused.

"Yeah, and?" He said.

"Why? You've never done it before." He sighed.

"The way I figure it, if you're going to stay with Hermione, I should get used to it. It'll be easier to get along with you than fight for the next hundred years." He stuck his hand out. "So? What do you say _Draco_. No more childish fights?" I chuckled and clapped my hand on his.

"I can't promise that, Potter, but I can promise not to curse you on purpose."

"You can call me Harry, you know?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Sorry," I said stretching out on the couch. "Old habits die hard."

Hermione looked beautiful in her purple dress. The top was spaghetti strap and fitted with a wide sash at her waist that tied in back. The bottom was loose and overlaid with a mesh fabric with a flowery silver design on it. Her hair was curled nicely around her shoulders and I had to admit that I never seen her more beautiful. Except when she was pregnant. We didn't stay at the dance for long, both of us really just wanted to get out of school and start our lives.

The song Hermione had mentioned at Graduation had indeed been a great song. It still reminds me a lot of that night. Potter and Ginny came back to our dorm with us and we all talked about our futures. The song kept playing in my head.

_And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives  
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25  
I keep thinking times will never change  
Keep on thinking things will always be the same  
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back  
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track  
And if you got something that you need to say  
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day  
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down  
These memories are playing like a film without sound  
And I keep thinking of that night in June  
I didn't know much of love  
But it came too soon  
And there was me and you  
And then we got real blue  
Stay at home talking on the telephone  
And we would get so excitedand we'd get so scared  
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair  
And this is how it feels_

As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
From whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever

So if we get the big jobs  
And we make the big money  
When we look back now  
Will our jokes still be funny?  
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?  
Still be trying to break every single rule  
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?  
Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?  
I keep, keep thinking that it's not goodbye  
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly  
And this is how it feels

As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
From whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever

La, la, la, la:  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
La, la, la, la:  
We will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?  
Can we survive it out there?  
Can we make it somehow?  
I guess I thought that this would never end  
And suddenly it's like we're women and men  
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?  
Will these memories fade when I leave this town  
I keep, keep thinking that it's not goodbye  
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
From whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever

I remember that last train ride very clearly to this day. Hermione cried silently into my shoulder as we rode the Hogwarts Express to King's Cross station, leaving Hogwarts for the last time. Alex, Viktoria and Dimitri were asleep, as was Ginny. Hermione eventually cried herself to sleep. I glanced up at Potter from my book to see that he was tearing up as well, watching the landscape fly by.

"For Merlin's sake Potter, not you too." I groaned. He smiled distantly.

"It was the only home I've ever known. I'm just going to miss it." He shrugged and wiped his eyes. "It's the hardest goodbye to make, you know? Saying good bye to the only place you've ever called a home." He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. "I know you know what I'm talking about. You never had a real home either. Hogwarts was the closest you ever got." He looked back out the window. "Everything's going to change now. No more walking to the Great Hall with Hermione, Ginny and… and Ron. No more studying and doing homework."

"No more trying to be killed by an evil twisted creature." I said jokingly. He nodded, but didn't laugh. "Hey, Potter." He looked over at me and I nodded. "It will be different from now on. But it'll be just as good. In a six months time, you'll be a dad. And there's nothing in the world like the feeling of holding your first child." I smiled down at Hermione and the kids, who were in a large pram in front of our seat. "Or the feeling you get the first time he says daddy. Or takes his first steps." I sighed. "Those will be the best moments of your life. And the hardest goodbye, I think, will be when they grow up and move out. When they don't need you anymore." I frowned at the thought and glanced up to see Potter staring at me.

"When the hell did you grow up, Draco?" He asked in awe.

"Well, it had to happen sometime." I replied, chuckling.

_Author's note: I'm doing one more chapter, possibly two, of epilogues and then I'm done. Thanks for reading!_

_Alice Lupin_


	17. Epilogue Present Time

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

**Chapter 17 – Epilogue – Present Time **

I woke to the sound of the bedroom door shutting, signaling that Hermione was awake for the day. I stretched and sat up I bed, grabbed my wand from the bedside table and pointed it at the curtains. They slid open and let in the early morning sunlight. Leaning against the pillows with my hands behind my head, I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds that woke me up every morning at 5am.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Viktoria called, stopping down the stairs, followed by Dimitri.

"Me too!" He yelled.

"Don't yell dad's asleep!" Alex yells back.

'_And here comes Anna.'_

"Mommy! Dimmi woke me up!"

'_Now Hermione will say "Everyone go back to your rooms. I'll come get you when breakfast is ready."'_

"Everyone go back to your rooms. I'll come get you when breakfast is ready." Hermione told them. I smiled. My life was amazing. Hermione and I live in a seven bedroom home on the outskirts of wizarding London. We moved here shortly after getting married because the house that I had built was getting too small. We were married on July 23rd, 1997 and we currently have four children. Our oldest Alexander James is 6, the twins, Viktoria Rose and Dimitri Adrian, are 4, and a pain in my arse, and Anna Narcissa is 3. I sighed.

'_I'm beating Potter in the kid department, maybe we should slow down.'_

I climbed out of bed and pulled on my boxers and jeans.

'_Thank Merlin it's Sunday!_' I pulled on a t-shirt.

The door to my room burst open and Dimitri came running in, followed by Anna.

'_Right on time.'_

"Dimmi pull my hair!!" Anna screeched.

"Nu-uh." Dimitri replied, sticking his tongue out.

"Dimmi did!" She yelled. "Did, did, did!"

"DID NOT!" Dimitri screamed as only a four year old boy can.

"Enough!" I yelled. I scooped them both up and walked out of my room and down the stairs, like I did every morning. "Oh Mrs. Malfoy!" I called. I found her in the living room reading a book. Dimitri reached over and tried to poke Anna so I tossed him on the couch next to Hermione. She jumped.

"Don't do that Draco. You could hurt him." Hermione fussed. I rolled my eyes.

"Tell your son not to pull my daughter's hair then." I told her.

"So their mine when they're bad and yours when they're good, is that it?" She asked. I nodded an affirmative.

"Exactly." I told her, smirking. Anna hugged my neck.

"Thank you, Daddy." She said, in that adorable three year old voice.

"You're welcome, Princess. Now go play." I set her down on the floor and she ran out of the room, closely followed by Dimitri. "Be nice!" I yelled after them. I turned back to Hermione and smiled. "So, Mrs. Malfoy. How are you today?" I asked, grinning. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine." She said. "And why are you calling me Mrs. Malfoy again? I thought we broke that habit." I grinned again, realizing she didn't know yet. I had noticed as soon as I saw her yesterday morning. Deciding I didn't want to drag it out, I explained.

"Have you noticed anything different lately?" I asked. "About yourself?" She frowned.

"No. Not really."

"You didn't miss anything? Or feel different?" I asked. "Would you like a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich?" I asked, remembering her cravings from Anna. She started at me strangely so I walked out of the room and went back upstairs to our bathroom.

'_Where did she put it?_' I asked, looking in the cabinet. I found it on the bottom shelf in the back and went down stairs, handing the open vial to her. She gagged.

"I knew it!" I shouted, grinning.

"That's not-"

"It is." I said interrupting her. I stopped the vial and handed it to her. She read the label and looked up at me.

"I'm pregnant?" I nodded, still grinning. "I'm pregnant." She said again. I walked over and kneeled in front of her, placing my head against her stomach.

"Now that mommy is in on the secret, we need to tell your brothers and sisters." I kissed her stomach and stood up, pulling her up as well.

"We should go to St. Mungo's before we tell anyone." Hermione said. I nodded. "Call Ginny and Harry and see if they can watch the kids for a few hours."

"Why not Mum? They haven't seen her in a while. They just saw Ginny and Potter yesterday and Mum has been complaining that we don't let her see them enough."

"Okay. I'll go get dressed and you can call her." She agreed. I went back to our room and grabbed my mobile phone, dialing Mums number.

"Hello, Dragon. How are you? When do I get to see my grandbabies?" She said, immediately after answering. I laughed, walking into the kitchen to get a cup of tea.

"Well, would you mind babysitting for a few hours?" I asked her.

"Oh, well. I have some stuff to do today but you've forced me to cancel my hair appointment." She said, sarcastically. "I'd love to! When will you be here? Are you staying for lunch? Or dinner possibly? You haven't seen Andy in a while, I could invite her over for dinner. Oh! And Remus and-"

"Mum! Stop!" I said quickly, interrupting her.

"Yes?" She asked, sounding upset.

"Are you getting lonely?" I asked. I took a sip of my tea and grimaced.

"Yes! I quiet am! I have been since you moved." I laughed, putting more sugar in my cup.

"Mum, that was 3 years ago, almost 4. Why are you just bringing this up?"

"Well, the last time I saw the kids was at Anna Banana's birthday! And the holidays are here now. You know, you're supposed to spend the holidays with family!" I sighed.

"Fine, we'll come for dinner. But you'll have to give us time to get ready." I told her. She squealed in delight.

"Can I invite-"

"You can invite whoever you want." I told her quickly.

"Oh yay! Thank you. I'll see you in a bit." I heard the _click_ on the other end and sighed. I set my cup down on the counter.

"Hermione! I've made a terrible mistake!" I yelled, running upstairs.

"What is it?" She asked, pulling a shirt over her head.

"I've let my mother loose on unsuspecting innocents!" I exclaimed.

"Mémé is loose? What, daddy?" I turned around and saw Viktoria standing in the hall way.

"Do you want to go see Mémé today, Vikki?" I asked, using the name the kids used for Mum. She nodded. "Ok, go tell your brothers and sister to get ready to go." Vikki spun around and ran down the hall.

"Explain Draco. How have you let her loose?" I groaned and sat down on the bed with my head in my hands.

"I told her we'd come over for dinner tonight and that she could invite anyone she wanted." I told her.

"What's wrong with that?" Hermione asked, pulling her hair into a pony tail.

"What's wrong with that? Dinner is at 5pm. It's 10am now. That's 7 hours! Do you know how many people that woman can invite in 7 hours?!"

"Draco, you're exaggerating." She laughed.

"No. I'm not." I said seriously. "You don't know her as well as I do. This woman could invite the whole of wizarding London in 7 hours." I paused. "And half of Muggle London." Hermione just laughed again.

"Go see if the kids are ready to go." I frowned. She really didn't understand. I went and checked on the kids, all of whom were running around the living room, ready to go to Mémé's.

"Mum? We're-"

"You're here!" Mum yelled, running into the sitting room, arms full of presents. She handed one to each of the kids. "Open them!" The kids dug into their presents and squealed in delight at the new toys.

"Mum, that's not necessary. We don't want to spoil them." Hermione said.

"Oh, pish posh. You're not spoiling them. I am!" Mum replied, smiling. I rolled my eyes.

"Mum, please try not to invite too many people tonight." I told her. She nodded.

"I've only invited Andy, Lupin, Teddy and Tamara. And the Weasleys and Potter's of course."

"Mother…" I said.

"I promise. That's all that's coming. Plus Sirius and Melanie. It's been so long since we've all seen each other." She whined. I sighed.

"All right. But no more!"

"What about Hermione's parents?" She asked quickly. "Are you speaking to your mother yet?" Hermione shook her head.

"I haven't been speaking to her since the wedding." Mum frowned.

"That's a long time to go without speaking to her."

"I know. But I told her that if she ever wanted to speak to me again that she would have to initiate it. I still talk to my dad but I doubt he'd come." Hermione told her. Mum nodded.

"Well, you two better be off. We'll see you in a bit." Hermione and I said our goodbye's to the kids and flooed to St. Mungo's. We checked in with the receptionist and sat in the waiting room.

"Malfoy?" The nurse called.

"Luna! How are you?" Hermione said, jumping up.

"Hermione, hello. I'm good." We followed her down the hall and into a room. "What are you here for?" She asked, in her airy voice.

"I need a pregnancy test." Hermione said, jumping up on the bed.

"Again? How many is that now?" Luna asked. I laughed.

"We have four." Luna nodded and started asking Hermione questions about her health. Luna left and Hermione's Healer came in.

"Back again Hermione?" Justin asked. He had been Hermione's Healer since the twins were born. He had delivered Anna as well.

"Hi Healer Dean. I need a pregnancy test. Again." Justin laughed.

"You know the drill. Lay back on the table and lift your shirt." Hermione did as instructed and soon the familiar white light was coming from Hermione's abdomen. He cast another spell and the light turned dark blue.

"Dark blue? What's that?" I asked, frowning.

"It means you're having boys." Hermione sat up on her elbows.

"_Boys?_ As in two?" She asked.

"I mean twin boys." He waved his wand once more and the light disappeared. "You're only 4 weeks. You noticed early."

"Draco noticed first. He did that with Anna was well." Hermione explained, pulling down her shirt and sitting up.

"Well, congratulations. I hope I get the pleasure of delivering your boys as well." Healer Dean left the room and we went back to the Manor.

"Should we tell the kids now?" Hermione asked, nervously, when we slid into the sitting room.

"Probably. You know them. They'll be mad if we don't. Mum as well." Hermione nodded and we followed the sound of the kids laughter into the pool room. Mum was trying to teach the twins to swim and Alex was swimming circles around them. Anna was on a floatable chair that Mum had bought her.

"Everyone out! We have an announcement and I don't want anyone to drown!" Hermione called. They slowly made their way to the edge of the pool and sat in the patio chairs.

"What is it mummy?" Dimitri and Viktoria chorused.

"Be quiet and they'll tell us!" Alex commanded with his 6 year old authority. The twins stuck their tongues out at Alex. They all turned towards us and waited expectantly. I kneeled in front of Anna, knowing it would be the hardest on her.

"Anna, would you like to be a big sister?"

"Dat would be fun!" She cried.

"Good. Because mommy is having two babies."

"Just like us?" Dimitri asked.

"Like me and Dimmi!" Vikki cried.

"Almost like you. But these babies will both be boys."

"I'm not sure I like that." Alex said, hand on his chin. "I'll have to share my toys with…" He started counting on his fingers, "more than three babies!" He said, holding up three fingers. Hermione kneeled in front of him.

"Yes. But won't it be fun? You can teach them everything you know. You can teach them to read and write and count." Hermione said softly.

"I suppose so." Alex said slowly. Hermione turned to the twins.

"And you two can teach them how to play tricks and games."

"Yeah!" They yelled together.

"What can I teach dem?" Anna asked, patting me on the cheek to get my attention. She often did it when she wanted something as well.

"You, my dear, can teach them how to be adorable." I told her, smiling.

"Draco!" Aunt Andy yelled upon seeing me. She ran towards me and engulfed me in her arms.

"Hello, Aunt Andy." I said, laughing.

"How long has it been since I've seen you and the kids?" She asked, pulling out of the hug.

"Anna's birthday. In August." I told her.

"Ah, yes. Remus, Tamara! How nice to see you!" She said, seeing Remus, Teddy and Tamara walking in.

"It's good to see you too, Mum." Remus replied.

"Hi grandma!" Teddy yelled, hurtling his 7 year old body towards Aunt Andy.

"Don't run, Teddy!" Tamara called. "Hello, Andy." Tamara and Remus had married a year after Hermione and I and she was still nervous around Aunt Andy.

"Hello, Tamara. How are you?" Aunt Andy asked.

"I've been good." Tamara replied.

"Hey Potter, Ginny." I called as they stepped in through the front door. I walked over to them. "Sorry. My mother decided to invite everyone. It'll be a little chaotic." I told them. Potter laughed.

"That's fine. It's been awhile anyways." He replied. "Most couldn't make it to James's birthday yesterday." He ruffled the boys hair. I knelt down to the boys level.

"Your cousins are in the sitting room if you'd like to go play with them." I told him. He grinned and ran off. Ginny let Lily down and she waddled after him. I stood up looking into the sitting room where our kids were all playing together. I frowned. "You son is holding my daughter's hand." I told Potter pointedly.

"Which one?" He asked, confused.

"James and Anna." I said, still frowning.

"It's fine, Draco." Hermione said, coming up behind me. "They're only 4 and 3, calm down."

"Wouldn't they make an adorable couple when they get older though?!" Ginny squealed, rubbing her stomach.

"Don't joke about that!" I exclaimed. "My kids will never marry a Potter." Potter laughed.

"We've been mates for almost 6 years, Draco. Give it a rest. I know you secretly love me." Hermione snickered and I fake vomited.

Finally! Some time to myself. I wandered to my old study and over to the large window on the far side. Leaning against the window frame, I pondered my life. I had an amazing, loving wife and 4 brilliant children, with two more on the way. My best friend was the savior of the wizarding world and my family was finally coming together after years of animosity. I thought of what Ginny had said earlier.

'_Wouldn't they make an adorable couple when they get older though?!_' The thought kept replaying through my head and my frown only deepened. It wasn't that I was against the idea of my daughter marrying a Potter. I was just against the idea of her marrying all together. She was my baby, my princess. She would be a grown woman before I knew it. I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face.

"What's wrong, love?" Came Hermione's voice. I stayed facing the window and I felt her come behind me. She placed a hand on my arm and I spun around.

"Let's have more." I told her, pulling her towards me so she wouldn't see the tears forming in my eyes.

"What?" She tried to pull away but I held her tighter.

"Children. Let's have more." I repeated.

"Draco, we barely have room for the ones we have now."

"So we'll get a bigger house. Or move in to the Manor." She pulled herself out of my grip and saw the tears running down my face. She placed her hands on each side of my face and wiped the tears away.

"Draco, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"Anna's going to marry James." I said stupidly. She laughed.

"I think we have at least 15 years to worry about that." She said gently.

"Those 15 years will go by so fast though!" I whipped around and stared out the window again. "Every time I stop to take stock of my life, I realize how quickly it's going by. You say it's at least 15 years down the road but when the time comes, we'll look back on this day and it will feel like yesterday." I told her quietly. She wrapped her arms around my waist, resting her head on my back.

"That's part of life, honey. You have children and they grow up. They get married and have kids of their own and all you can hope for is that you raised them right." I felt the back of my shirt grow damp and I knew she was crying as well. I sighed and turned in her arms, pulling her closer to me. We stood like that for a moment, both crying silently.

"You know what I've always wanted to do?" I whispered to her. She shook her head. I gently turned her around and pointed to my old desk. "I have always wanted to make love on that desk." I gave her bum a slap. "What do you say Mrs. Malfoy? Up for a romp in the study?" She laughed.

"I think our absence would be noticed." She walked towards the desk and ran a hand down the side, almost longingly.

"No one can get in here unless I grant them permission." I reminded her. She nodded. Finally, she grinned over at me and lifted herself up on the desk.

"Come here, Mr. Malfoy." She said seductively. My eyebrows shot up. Merlin, I loved this woman! I sauntered over to her, undoing my belt and kicking my slacks off as I went. She was pulling her dress up. I helped her out of the dress and pressed my lips to hers forcefully, trailing my hands down her sides. She pulled her lips from mine and buried her face in my neck before biting the spot between my shoulder and neck.

"Merlin, woman. You still drive me crazy." I moaned. She chuckled, placing a kiss on my neck.

"Good to know." She gasped as my hand touched the inside of her thighs. She started wiggling around, trying to get me to touch her center. When I finally did, she moaned and braced herself against the desk, leaning back. She was already wet and I entered her in one swift motion. Her head fell backwards and a sound that was uniquely Hermione escaped her lips.

I rocked my hips against her, reveling in the noises she made in the throes of passion.

_Knock, knock_

"Draco, are you in there?" Mother called. I clamped a hand down on Hermione's mouth and stilled my motions. Hermione looked ready to burst into laughter at the horrified expression on my face. Mother knocked again. "I know you're in there, Draco. You too Hermione."

"Finish up quickly and come down for dinner!" Aunt Andy called, laughing. I heard their retreating footsteps and released Hermione who immediately burst into a fit of giggles.

"That was not funny!" I scolded her. She nodded.

"Oh yes it was." She said. I rocked my hips against hers and the laughter turned into moans. I smirked. Much better. I increased my speed and held her upright. Her head went to my shoulder, her lips to my neck. The feeling of being inside her mixed with the bites and kisses to my neck almost drove me over the edge. I pushed my hand between us and found the bundle of nerves buried in her folds. Her walls grew tighter around my manhood as I played with her clit. When she was close, I pulled my hand away, pushed her head back to my shoulder and went faster. Her lips found my pulse point and I moaned at the feeling.

She threw her head back again, crying out in ecstasy. Her walls squeezed me one last time.

"Draco!" She called out. The sound of her voice drove me over the edge and I spilled into her, shuddering.

"'Mione." I moaned. I gathered the last bit of my strength and lowered her gently back onto the desk. I pulled out of her and rest my head on her stomach. I caught my breath quickly and leaned up on my elbow. I reached up and brushed her hair out of her face.

"I love you, Hermione Malfoy." I said softly. She opened her eyes and smiled down at me softly.

"I love you too."


	18. Epilogue 17 Years Later

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

_This chapter is not in Draco's POV. It's third person POV. There will be one more chapter, that will be quite sad, that you don't really have to read. It will be written from Hermione's POV. And then that will be the end of this story._

**Chapter 18 – Epilogue – 17 years later**

"Daddy?" Anna called, standing in front of her father's study at Malfoy Manor. The door opened to reveal a 47 year old Draco Malfoy.

"What is it Princess?" He asked, sounding tired.

"I wanted to come and make sure you were okay. I am getting married today after all." She said, smiling softly. Draco opened the door wider and pulled his 20 year old daughter inside and into his arms.

"How could I have forgotten? You're marrying a Potter today." He frowned at her and Anna laughed.

"It's not so bad daddy." She said, patting his cheek like she had when she was little. "I'll come home to visit. I promise." He sighed and released her to sit behind his desk.

"It's not the same." He said, shrugging. She jumped up on his desk and placed her hands beneath her thighs, swinging her legs back and forth. He studied her for a moment. She was incredibly like her mother, beautiful and brilliant. Her dirty blonde hair fell in rings down her back and her grey eyes, so much like his own, held the same innocent curiosity that her mother's still held. He sighed. "You'll understand when you have children. It's hard to let them go."

"You cried at Vikki's wedding, but not at Alex's. Why?" She asked, watching her legs swing back and forth.

"I'm aloud to cry at my daughter's wedding's. If I cry at my son's it seems strange. But I cried for hours after Alex got married to Andrea Wood." He remembered that night very well. He had cried for hours, locked in his study with a bottle of scotch. When Hermione had finally blasted the door open, the bottle was gone and he was a mess. His first child had gotten married and it had made him incredibly upset. Alex had married Oliver Wood's daughter 2 years ago and they were expecting their first child, his second grandchild.

Viktoria had married Teddy Lupin a year ago, after having their first child, a girl named Andromeda. She was a year and two months old. Dimitri hasn't settled down with anyone for longer than six months. And now his Princess, his Anna Banana was getting married.

"It's okay if you cry today, daddy." She said. He smiled up at her and pulled her down into his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder as she had done so many times before. He recalled the first time he ever held her, and the first time she called him dada. Her first steps and her first nightmare. He recalled every time she had cried into his shoulder, the day she left for Hogwarts, and the day she graduated. And now she was getting married. He sighed.

_Knock, knock_

"Draco?" Hermione called.

"Come on in!" He called back.

"Have you seen- There you are!" She said as she pushed the door open. "I've been looking everywhere for you! It's nearly 10. You need to go get ready."

Anna lifted her head off his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"You'll always be my daddy. No matter where I am, no matter who I'm with." She whispered to him, giving him a hug. She stood up and smiled. "Just because I'm marrying James Potter today doesn't mean I'm not you Princess anymore." He nodded, not wanting to open his mouth and start crying. She walked out of the room and pulled the door shut behind her. Hermione walked over and stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders.

"Relax, love. We still have 4 children at home." She said. He groaned.

"Devon and Blake will be moving out this summer as they just graduated. Karolina will be starting her 7th year and is already seriously dating Blaise's son, Harvey. And Jennifer is already starting her 5th year!" He groaned. "Our children are growing up too quickly." He told her, leaning his head back and looking up at her. She smiled.

"We could have another and start all over." She suggested. He snorted.

"We have more children than Harry and Ginny. I think we're done." He said sitting up.

"We're only beating them by two." She said grinning.

"Well, I suppose I can say that I'm better at one thing than Harry is." He laughed. Hermione sat down in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Our children are growing up Draco." She said quietly. He rubbed her back.

"I know, love." He kissed her forehead. "In 4 years, they'll all be out on their own." He sighed and dropped his head on the back of the chair. "Why did we have 8 children, Hermione?" He asked. She laughed.

"Because after Devon and Blake you said you wanted more." She replied, slapping his arm. He grinned, lifting his head.

"Yeah, I know." He stared at the ground for a moment. "It gets harder every time someone moves out or gets married. Or has a child. Why does it get harder every time? Shouldn't it get easier." He said, frowning.

"It's never easy when you realize that you're children are growing up, love."

_Knock, knock_

"Are you ready, Draco?" Hermione asked, opening their bedroom door. Draco frowned at the reflection in the mirror.

"I need a new suit." He complained. She _tsk_ed.

"You should have thought about that a month ago." She said, coming over and straightening his tie. He shrugged.

"I'll remember next time." He kissed her on the forehead and then headed to Anna's bedroom. He knocked twice and entered when Anna called for him to come in. She stood in front of her mirror, studying her reflection. She turned around and smiled at her dad.

"What do you think?" She asked. He sighed. She looked beautiful, of course. The dress was strapless and white, with a corset type back. It was fitted from the top hem to her waist, were it flowed down gracefully to the floor. Her dirty blonde hair was piled delicately on top of her head and she was beaming. He walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

"You look like an angel." He said. She smiled up at him before throwing her arms around his neck.

"I love you, daddy." She whispered in his ear. "You are the best father any girl could ever have." She pulled away and her eyes were wet.

"Don't cry, Banana. You'll ruin your make up." She smiled and sniffed, turning around to take one last look in the mirror. She nodded, took Draco's arm, and they left the room.

Draco cried quietly through the ceremony. He knew he shouldn't have favorites as a father but Anna had always been his princess. Her wedding seemed to hit him exceptionally hard. He wiped his eyes hastily before standing up and watching James Potter lead his daughter back down the aisle.

"Guess we're in-laws now huh?" Harry said, clapping him on the back.

"Yeah, guess so." He said, staring at the door that Anna and James had disappeared through. He looked at Harry and was shocked to see his eyes glistening as well, staring at the same door.

"We've become weak in our old age, Harry." Draco said. Harry nodded. "Care for some scotch?"

"I'd love some." Harry replied. He followed Draco up to his study and watched him pull out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He filled them both and handed one to Harry. "Thanks." Draco sighed and sat on the couch by the fire, next to Harry.

"It's never easy when you're children grow up, especially you're first." Draco said. Harry nodded, staring into the fire. "At least you only have to go through it 5 more times." Draco sighed. "I've gone through it 3 times already and still have 5 more. It doesn't get easier either. It almost seems like it gets harder."

"Thanks for the warning." Harry said, sarcastically.

"No problem." Draco replied. He stretched his legs out and placed them on the coffee table, crossing his ankles, and took a long drink of his scotch. They sat for about an hour, exchanging stories about Anna and James.

"Draco? Harry?" Hermione called.

"Come in!" They both called. Draco snickered. Hermione opened the door and looked around the room.

"Anna and James are leaving for their honeymoon soon. They both want you two to stop moping and come down for the last hour." Draco drained his scotch and followed his wife out of the room, Harry behind them. The reception was being held in the dinning hall, which was big enough for a buffet table, a bunch of small seating tables and a dance floor

"Hey, Banana." Draco said, kissing his daughter on the forehead.

"Hi Daddy. Do you want to dance?" She asked. He nodded and led her out on to the dance floor. He swayed to the music, her head tucked against his chest. He felt tears roll down his cheeks as he listened to the lyrics of the song playing for their father daughter dance.

_Wind blowin' on my face  
Sidewalk flyin' beneath my bike  
A five year-old's first taste  
Of what freedom's really like  
He was runnin' right beside me  
His hand holdin' on the seat  
I took a deep breath and hollered  
As I headed for the street_

You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Oh, I think I'm ready  
To do this on my own  
It's still a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go

I was standin' at the altar  
Between the two loves of my life  
To one I've been a daughter  
To one I soon would be a wife  
When the preacher asked,  
'Who gives this woman?'  
Daddy's eyes filled up with tears  
He kept holdin' tightly to my arm  
'Till I whispered in his ear

You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Oh, I think I'm ready  
To do this on my own  
It still feels a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go

It was killin' me to see  
The strongest man I ever knew  
Wastin' away to nothin'  
In that hospital room  
'You know he's only hangin' on for you'  
That's what the night nurse said  
My voice and heart were breakin'  
As I crawled up in his bed, and said  


_You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Your little girl is ready  
To do this on my own  
It's gonna be a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go  
You can let go_

By the time the song was over, tears were pouring down Anna and Draco's faces.

"I don't want to let you go, Anna." He whispered. "You're my little girl. My princess." She smiled a watery smile at him and wiped at her face.

"It's only for a little while, daddy. We'll be back soon." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll always be your princess. Just a little more grown up." He nodded silently and led her back to her table, then went and sat with Hermione, who was crying silently.

"That was a beautiful song." She said as he sat down. He nodded.

"I need to find a copy of it." He said, more to himself than anything. The sat at the table in silence for a while until the song before last came on.

"One more dance, daddy?" Anna asked, walking up to them. He nodded.

"How about a family dance?" He asked. She smiled.

"Sounds good." The sight after that was quiet a comical one. Hermione and Draco and their children, and in-laws and grandchildren, Alex, Andrea, Viktoria, Teddy, Andromeda, Dimitri, Anna, Devon, Blake, Katrina, Jennifer, Lupin and Tamara were all out on the floor dancing. A moment later, Harry and Ginny and their children James, Lily, Ron, Albus, Karmen, and Molly joined them along with Sirius and his wife Melanie, and their son, who was in his fifth year, Bryan. The choice of song made Draco laugh. It was so much like his daughter to choose this song.

_We are family  
I got all my sisters with me  
We are family  
Get up everybody and sing_

Everyone can see we're together  
As we walk on by  
And we fly just like birds of a feather  
I won't tell no lie  
All of the people around us they say  
Can they be that close  
Just let me state for the record  
We're giving love in a family dose

Draco watched silently as his daughter and new son-in-law left for their honeymoon. He turned back to the Manor that was his home. He checked on Devon, Blake, Katrina and Jennifer and then continued to bed and the promise of a good cry without interruptions.


	19. Memoir of a Great Man

_Authors note: Sadly I own nothing of the Harry Potter realm...*Sigh* All contents, save the plot, belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling. Some parts in this story are from the 6th book only from Draco's POV and the ending of the 6th book is completely different as is the 7th book._

_This is a short and very sad chapter. Just a warning, I cried while writing it!_

**Chapter 19 – Memoir of a Great Man**

It had been 59 years since I met him. We met at age 11. We were now 70. I woke on the morning of January 15th and climbed out of bed. I glanced out the window, smiling when I saw my great grandchildren playing in the snow. I took a hurried shower and dressed quickly then I walked down the hall to Draco's bedroom. I walked over to his bed quietly and took his hand. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled weakly when he saw me.

"Good morning, love." He said in a raspy voice. I smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Anna will be here today. She promised." He nodded slowly. "A Healer is coming by today to see how you're doing as well." He turned his head a stared out the window.

"What day is it?" He asked.

"January 15th." He nodded just before going into a coughing fit. A girl with flaming red hair came running in and helped him sit up. "Thank you Melanie." I said. The 32 year old girl smiled at me.

"No problem, Grandmum. Mum said she'll be here today. Dad too." I nodded, rubbing Draco's back.

"I know. Be a dear and get him a glass of water." Melanie, my granddaughter, nodded and left the room. I brushed Draco's hair back and kissed his forehead. "Hold on just a little longer, love. Anna promised she'd be here today." Draco nodded. I sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hand, until Melanie came back in with a glass of water. Draco drank a bit and then fell asleep. I started thinking about the past few years.

Draco had gotten sick 3 years ago. At first it was nothing but a bad cough. But when his body started shaking occasionally, I hired a Healer to find out what was wrong. He had a magical disease that had begun to spring up 5 years ago. The Healer predicted that he'd only live a year or so, and here we were, 3 years later. The whole family was here, except for our daughter Anna and her husband James. They had moved to the United States about 8 years ago and only came to visit on Holidays. They had 3 children; Melanie, who was 32, Draco, who was 30, and Darius, who just turned 28.

A week ago, the Healer had told us that he had less than a month to live. The thought of being without him after all this time, is almost impossible to think about.

"Mrs. Malfoy?" I turned towards the door to see a Healer standing there. "May I come in?" I nodded. He walked towards the bed and started casting spells over Draco. When he was done, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it won't be much longer. I said a month last time. I'm changing that to a week now." A tear slipped down my face and I nodded. The Healer left and I laid down beside Draco, wrapping my arm around his waist. He stirred and opened his eyes.

"Hey." I whispered. He smiled. The simple movement seemed to cause him pain. I sat up and looked down at him. "I need to say something. Now. In case I don't get the chance to later." He nodded and I took a deep breath and continued. "You have made my life incredible, Draco Malfoy. You've given me 8 beautiful, amazing children and almost 55 years of pure happiness. You are the love of my life and I don't know-" My voice broke horribly and tears slid down my face. Draco reached a hand up and brushed them away weakly. I grabbed his hand and held it to my face, trying to memorize the feeling. "I don't know what I'll do when you're gone. I love you so very much." He placed a finger over my lips to stop my talking.

"I love you too, Hermione." He said weakly. "Whatever is waiting for me, after death, if there's anyway I can wait for you, I will. We will be together again. A great man said that death is nothing more than the next great adventure. And I'll do everything I can to take that adventure with you." I broke out in coughs again and I helped him sit up, with some difficulty. "Water." He said quietly, between coughs. I handed him the glass and he took a sip out of it. I took the glass from him and helped him lay back down.

"Daddy?" A voice came from the door. We both looked over to see our daughter Anna standing in the doorway, tears streaming down her face, with her arms wrapped around herself. I held out my hand to her and she walked towards the bed. Even though she was 52 years old now, she had called Draco daddy all her life. She walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down, gripping Draco's hand. I smiled at Anna and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead.

"Sing to me." Draco said, weakly. Anna smiled.

"What do you want me to sing daddy?" She asked, her voice wavering.

"Sing me the song we danced to at your wedding." He said. She smiled.

"You loved that song." He nodded, smiling weakly. I got up and stepped out of the room.

"Melanie?" I called. She came out of a room down the hall.

"Yeah, Grandmum?"

"I need you to go get yours aunts and uncles. You're mother is here and I want Draco to have some time with just his children." She nodded and ran down the stairs. I went back in the room and sat down on the bed as Anna got to the end of the song. Even at her age, her voice was beautiful. The words she sang made me want to break down and cry, but I couldn't. I had to be strong for my children.

"_It was killin' me to see  
The strongest man I ever knew  
Wastin' away to nothin'  
In that hospital room  
'You know he's only hangin' on for you'  
That's what the night nurse said  
My voice and heart were breakin'  
As I crawled up in his bed, and said_

You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Your little girl is ready  
To do this on my own  
It's gonna be a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go  
You can let go." The room had filled up quickly with our children and they were all crowded around Draco's bed. He smiled weakly, tears running down his face.

"Hey guys." He whispered. There were choruses of 'Hi dad's. "The 9 of you have made my life amazing. You'll never know how much I love you. I don't want to leave but apparently it's my time." I looked around at our children and a tear slipped down my face. I had a feeling that Draco wouldn't get more than an hour with them before… I couldn't even think about the word. "I don't have much time. But I'd like to see each of you alone for just a few moments, starting with the youngest." He tried to laugh but it came out as a couching fit. Anna and I sat him up and gave him some water. We all left the room and let Draco have a moment with Jennifer. Anna gave me a hug when we reached the hallway.

"How are you doing, mum?" She asked. I sighed and wiped my face.

"I've been better." I said. She nodded and grabbed my hand.

"James and I are moving back here. He's transporting all our things now. I want to be here when daddy…" I nodded quickly.

"I know. You can stay here if you'd like, as long as you'd like." She nodded. Everyone was silent until Jennifer came out of the room. Tears were streaming down her face. She didn't say anything, she just crossed the hall and sat down on the floor leaning against the wall. Katrina went in next and came out looking the same as Jenn. She went over and sat next to her younger sister, linking arms with her. An hour later, 7 of my children were lined up along the wall, arms linked, sitting on the floor, silently crying. Alex came out of the room last and pulled me into a hug.

"Dad wants to see you." He said. I nodded. I walked into the room and shut the door softly.

"Draco?" I whispered. He raised a hand slightly and I rushed to the bed.

"Hermione, love. I don't have much time. I can feel it. The Healer said a week but I doubt I'll even get another hour." He coughed but held his hand up and shook his head when I tried to sit him up. "I'm fine. I just need to tell you that you don't have to be strong for our children. They know that you'll be a mess after I pass and they've all promised me to take care of you after I'm gone." I smiled softly.

"Even when you're this close to death you don't think of yourself." He tried to laugh.

"There's not much about me to think of. I'm dying Hermione." He said bluntly. "It's a fact of life. The only thing I can do is wait and hope that you will all be ok after I leave." I nodded. "Now listen. When you have my funeral, I want to be buried in the garden with Mum. I want Anna to sing our song and I want the song Holes in the Floor of Heaven to be played as well. It's an American muggle song but I love it." I nodded. "I want to do one last thing before I pass, Hermione." He whispered.

"What, love?" I asked, trying desperately to keep the trembling out of my voice.

"I want to go outside. By Mum's grave. And I want all our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren around me. And I suppose Harry and Ginny too."

"It's too cold out there, Draco." I argued. He chuckled.

"I'm already dying. What more can be done?" I considered this for a moment. This was the last thing he wanted to do before he died. I would do it if it killed me.

"Ok, Draco. We'll go outside. But only for a moment." He nodded. I sat his bed up and started pushing him out of the room.

"Your father wants to go outside." I told our children when we came out. Slowly but surely, we got him down to the ground floor and out to the garden. When he was situated next to Narcissa's grave with our family around us, he started talking. Harry sat down beside me and took my hand. I smiled at him gratefully and leaned my head against his shoulder. We sat in the garden for 30 minutes listening to Draco talk about absolutely nothing. When his cough got too bad, I ordered him back inside.

"Hermione?" He whispered, as I got him back upstairs.

"Yes, love?" I said.

"It's almost time. I only want you and Harry in the room when I pass. I don't want my children to see me die."

"Anything you want." I told him gently, pushing his bed back into the room. I went back to the door. "Anna, go get Harry." She nodded and went back downstairs. I closed the bedroom door and sat on the side of Draco's bed once more and grasped his hand. It scared me how cold it was. A moment later there was a knock on the door and Harry walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Potter." Draco said, smiling weakly. Harry smiled back and sat on the other side of the bed, grabbing his other hand.

"Hey, Malfoy."

"I have a few…" He took a deep shuttering breath. "A few things to ask of you." Harry gripped his hand harder.

"What is it, mate?" He asked.

"Make sure 'Mione is okay after I pass, and the kids. Especially Anna. It will be hardest on them." Harry nodded.

"Yeah. I can do that."

"Good." Draco's eyes drifted closed. He turned his head towards me. "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I have one last request."

"Anything." I replied quickly. He smiled, eyes still closed.

"Kiss me." I cupped his face with my left hand and bent down to kiss him. I pressed my lips to his, trying to pour my emotions into that one kiss. I pulled away and looked down at him.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy." I said softly.

Just before his chest stopped rising and falling, before his hands fell limp in mine and Harry's hands, just before my life shattered, Draco said his last words.

"I love you too, Hermione Granger."

_Author's Note: This was a hard chapter for me to write as I was crying the entire time. I know this was a horribly sad chapter, but I felt it needed to be done. I apologize if I made anyone cry!_

_This story has been great to write, but I'm finally done! I'm still working on a story called "A Lifetime Of Choices" and I have the first 2 chapters of a new story called "Convinced". Convinced is not posted yet, but will be soon :)_

_Thanks for coming along for the ride!_

_Alice Lupin_


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